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1^ 




HARVARD 
COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 




g^mdtj: ^rc|)aeolosical ^oeiet^. 



SUSSEX 



9lrc!)aeolosical Collections, 



ILLUSTRATING THE 



HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE COUNTY. 



PUBLISHED BY 



Kf)t &mstx ^rcijaeoloflical Soctetg. 




VOL. III. 



LONDON : 
JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 

4, OLD COMPTON STREET, SOHO SQUARE. 
MDCCCL. 






Harvard OoUe; o Library 

Nov. 27, 1911 

From the Qit t of 

CharleB Jackson 

of Boston 



ARLISS AND TUCKER, PRINTERS, 
VAITH 8TKBBT, 80H0 SQVAKX. 



CONTENTS. 



VAOS 

Report of the Committee ....... vii 

Rules of the Society ........ xii 

List of Members ........ xiii 

1. Docnmentft relating to Knepp Castle. Collected by the Rev. John Sbarpe, late 

Curate of Shipley, and communicated by Sib Charles Mbrrik Bvrbbll, 
Baet., M.P. ........ 1 

2. On an Ancient Rectory-House in the Parish of West Dean. With some 

Remarks on the Church. By the Rev. Geobob Miles Coopeb. With four 
Lithoffre^lu ........ 13 

3. Lease of the Free Chapel of Midhurst, in 1514. Communicated by Sir 

Henbt Ellis, K.H., F.S.A., &c. &c. . . . . .23 

4. Orders of the Privy Council of James I, to the Sheriff and Justices of Sussex, 

on the too great cheapness of Com in 1619, and its dearth in 1621. Copied 
from Burrell MSS., by W. H. Blaauw, Esq. . . . .26 

5. On the Castle of Bellencombre, the original Seat of the Family of De Waienne, 

in Normandy. By M. A. Loweb, Esq. With Wood Engraving* . . 29 

G. Letters to Ralph de Nevill, Bishop of Chichester, 1222-1244, and Chancellor 

to King Henry III. By W. H. Blaauw, Esq. . . . .35 

7. Notices connected with a recent Excavation in the CoU^ Chapel at ArundeL 

By the Rev. M. A. Thernet, F.R.S., F.S.A., and Corresponding Member of 

the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. With Wood Engravingi . .77 

8. Pedigree of the Lewknor Fannly. By William Dcrbant Cooper, Esq., F.S.A. 89 

9. Silver Clock of King Charles the Rrst. By William Townley Mitford, 

Esq. With Wood Engravings . . . ^ . . 103 

10. Notes on the Wills proved at the Consistory Courts of Lewes and Chichester. 

By Mark Antony Lower, Esq. ...••• 

11. Extracts firom the Journal and Accoimt-Book of Timothy Burrell, Esq., Barrister- 

at-Law, of Ockenden House, Cuckfield, from the year 1683 to 1714, By 
Robert Willis Blencowe, Esq. With Plate and Woodcuts .117 



108 



ir 




HARVARD 
COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 




^mstx ^ttjaeologtcal feottetp. 



X REPORT. 

Mr. Ade described the ooune of a Roman Road lately examiiied by Mr. Figg and himself, 
near Pole Gate. 

Mr. Lower described an implement for the teeth, nails, &c., found in a graye at Alfriston, 
in 1849. It is marked with the name of Denis Hurst, who, according to the register 
of the parish, died in 1584. 

Mr. W. Harvey read an account of the Coins which had been found in the neighbourhood. 

Rey. 6. M. Cooper's History of the Priory and Church of Wilmington, illustrated by 
numerous Drawings, was communicated, and reserved for future pubUcation. 

The * is prefixed to thoee papers and obfeete which arepuhUehed tn the present Vohtme, 

Some Papers of fresli interest are necessarily deferred, especially those 
relating to recent disooyeries of Roman remains at Balmer^ Westergate, &c., 
and of a Roman road near Eastbourne ; and the Committee take this op- 
portunity of earnestly requesting the assistance of all their Members to render 
more complete a .general account of all the traces of Roman occupation in 
Sussex, which it is their wish to include in the Fourth Volume. Any com- 
munication denoting the localities of such discoyeries will be thankfully 
receiyed by W. Eioo. Esq. Lewes, who has undertaken to coUect such 
particulars. 

It is proposed in an early volume to giye a descriptive list of all the 
Tradesmen's Tokens issued in Sussex in the seventeenth century. Members 
possessing specimens are requested to communicate with W. Harvey, Esq., 
Lewes. 

The thanks of the Society are due to John Petee Feaeon, Esq., for 
presenting the Society with the plate of Ockenden House, his own residence, 
as an ornamental embellishment of the curious Diary of Timothy Burrell, 
published in the present volume, and the same Diary has been also fortunate 
enough to be further illustrated by the kindness of James Huedis Esq., who 
has preserved the appearance of the original MS. in the faithful copies of its 
rude drawiags by the Hberal devotion of his skill. 
Lewes ; July 1, 1850. 



Notice. — The General Annual Meeting wiU take place at Herstmonceux, 
on Thursday, July 25^, 1850. 

This Volume is distributed free to Members. The price to the puhlic "will be IO9. ; but 
to new Members hereafter joining the Society, the price will be 5«., and some copies of 
the Society's First Volmne will be reserved for them at 5«., and of the Second at Is. 6d., 
*for which applications may be made to Mr. W. Habvey, Local Secretary, Clife, Lewes, 



^m&tj: 9lret)aeologtcal ^octetp* 



His Grace the 

DuKB OF Richmond, 

K. G., 

Lord Lieatenant and 

Gustos Rot. 




IPtfsdintt* 

His Grace the 

DuKB OP Norfolk, 

K.G. 

Earl Marshal 



IFict^^ttstlitnts* 



The Mabquis of Nobthampton. 

The E ABL OF Arundel and Surrbt, M.P. 

The Earl of Burlington. 

The Earl of Chichbstbr. 

The Earl Dblawarr. 

The Earl of Egmont. 

The Earl of Liybrpool, G.C.B. 

The Earl of Sheffibld. 

Earl Waldbgravb. 

Lord Viscount Gaob. 

The Lord Bishop of Chichbstbr. 

The Lord Bishop of Oxford. 

Lord Abinobr. 

Lord Colchbstbr. 

Right Hon. Thomas Erskinb. 

The Honourable H. Otwat Trbyor. 

Sir C. M. Burrell, Bart., M.P. 

The Honourable Robert Curzon, Jun. 

Sir C. M. Lamb, Bart. 

Sir S. B. P. MiCKLBTHWAiTB, Bart. 



Sir Hbnbt Shifpkbb, Bart. 
Sir Thomas Mabton Wilson, Bart. 
Sir Hbnbt Ellis, K.H., F.R.S., F.S.A. 
The Very Rev. Dr. Chandlbb, Dean of 

Chichester. 
Rev. E. Cbavbn Hawtbbt, D.D., F.SJL 
The Venerable Archdeacon Habb. 
The Venerable Archdeacon Manning. 
The Rev. H. Wbllbslbt, D.D., Prindpal 

of New Inn Hall, Oxford. 
H.M. CuBTBis, Esq., M.P. 
Augustus Elliott Fullbb, Esq., M.P. 
Albxandbb J. Bebbsfobd Hope, Esq., 

M.P., F.S.A. 
John Bbitton, Esq., F.S.A., &c. &c. 
Thomas D'Oyly, Esq., Seijeant-at-Law. 
G. A. Mantbll, Esq., F.R.S., LL.D., &c. 
John Villibbs Shbllbt, Esq. 
Albbbt Wat, Esq., F.S.A., Hon. Sec. of 

Archaeological Institute. 



R. W. Blencowb, Esq. 
Rev. Hbathcotb Campion. 
CoL F. Dayibs. 
Rev. E. Ebdlb. 
William Figg, Esq. 
Rev. C. Gaunt. 



(STottunittet. 

Rev. Lbvbson Vebnon Habcoubt. 

Rev.Dr. Holland, Precentor of Chichester. 

John Hopeb, Esq. 

Mabk Antont Lowbb, Esq. 

Rev. M. Alotsius Tibbnby, F.S.A. 

Rev. Wm. Downes Willis. 



Thomas Dickbb, Esq., Old Bank, Lewes. 
W. H. Blaauw, Esq., F.SA., Beechland, Uckfield. 



Rev. T. W. Pebby, Chichester. 
Rev. G. H. Clabkson, Amberiey. 
Mr. John Phillips, Worthing. 
W. BoBBEB, Esq., Jun., Cowfold. 
J. H. Pickfobd, Esq., M.D., Brighton. 
Mr. W. Harvey, Lewes. 



R. S. Stbbatfbild, Esq., Uckfield. 
A. Whiteman, Esq., East Bourne. 
Rev. E. Venables, Herstmonceux. 
G. 0. LuxFOBD, Esq., Hurst Green. 
Mr. T. Ross, Hastings. 
Mr. J. Russell Smith, London. 



XU SUSSEX ARCH^OLpOIGAL SOCIETY. 

Thi objects of this Society embrace whiterer relates to the Ciyfl or Ecclesiastical 
History, Topography, Andent Buildings, or Works of Art, within the County, and for 
this purpose, the Sodety incite communications on such subjects, espedally from those 
Noblemen and Gentlemen who possess estates within the County, and who may materially 
assist the completion of the County History, now very impofect, by the loan of Andent 
Documents relating to Estates, Manors, Wills, or Pedigrees, and of any object generally 
connected with the Ancient History of Sussex. 

The Sodety wiU collect Manuscripts and Books, Drawings and Prints, Coins and Seals, 
or Copies thereof, Rubbings of Brasses, Descriptiye Notices and Plans of Churches, 
Castles, Mansions, or other Buildings of antiquarian interest ; such Collection to be pre- 
served and made available for the purposes of the Sodety, by publication or otherwise. 

1. That the Sodety shall avoid all topics of reUgious or political controversy, and 
shall remain independent, though willing to co-operate with similar Societies by friendly 
communication. 

2. That the Sodety shall consist of Members and Associates. 

3. That candidates for admission be proposed and seconded by two Members of the 
Sodety, and dected at any Meeting of the Committee, or at a General Meeting. One 
black ball in five to exclude. 

4. That the Annual Subscription of Ten Shillings shall become due on the 1st day 
of January, or iS5 be paid in lieu thereof, as a composition for life. Subscriptions to be 
paid at the Lewes Old Bank, or by Post-office order, to Thomas Dickbb, Esq., Treasurer, 
Lewes Old Bank, or to any of the Local Secretaries. 

5. That Members of dther House of Parliament shall, on becoming Members of the 
Sodety, be placed on the Ust of Vice-Presidents, and also such other persons as the 
Sodety may determine. 

6. That the affairs of the Sodety be conducted by a Committee of Management, to 
con^t of a Patron, a President, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, a Treasurer, and not less 
than twdve other members, who shall be chosen at the General Annual Meeting ; three 
Members of such Committee to form a Quorum. 

7. That at every Meeting of the Sodety, or of the Committee, the resolutions of the 
majority present shidl be binding, though aU persons entitled to vote be not present. 

8. That a General Meeting ot the Sodety be hdd annually, in July or August, as may 
be appointed by the Committee, at some place rendered interesting by its Antiquities or 
Historical Associations, in the Eastern and Western Divisions of the County altematdy ; 
such General Meeting to have power to make such alterations of the Rules as a majority 
may determine, on notice thereof being one month previously given to the Committee. 

9. That a Special General Meeting may be summoned by the Secretaries on the re- 
quisition, in writing, of five members, and dther the Patron, President, or two Vice- 
Presidents, specifying the subject to be brought forward for dedsion at such Meeting, and 
such subject only to be then considered. 

10. That the Committee have power to admit without ballot, on the nomination of 
two members, any Lady who may be desirous of becoming a Member of the Sodety. 

11. That the Committee have power to dect as an Associate of the Sodety, any person 
whose local office may enable him to promote the objects of the Sodety — such Associate 
not to pay any Subscription, nor to have the ri{^t of voting in the affairs of the Society, 
and to be subject to re-dection annually. 

12. That the Committee be empowered to appoint any Member Local Secretary for 
the town or district where he may reside, in order to feunlitate the collection of accurate 
information as to objects of local interest, and that such Local Secretaries be ex-qfficio 
Members of the Committee. 

13. That Meetings for the purpose of reading papers, the exhibition of antiquities, or 
the discussion of subjects connected therewith, be hdd at such times and places as the 
Committee may determine. 

14. That the Secretaries shall keep a record of the proceedings of the Sodety, to be 
communicated to the General Meeting, and, until other arrangements can be made, shall 
have the custody of any books, documents, or antiquities, which may be presented, or lent 
to the Sodety. 

Persons desirous of becoming members of the Sodety, are requested to communicate 
with a Secretary. 



SUSSEX ARCHiBOLOOICAL SOCIETY. 



XUl 



ffittn^txa^ 



Earl of Arundel and Surrey, M.P. 
Lord Abinger. 

Sir J. H. Anson, Bart., Avisford. 
Mr. Charles Ade, Alfriston. 
Rev. Aretas Akers, Fletching. 
Rev. H. Allen, Bzigfaton. 
John Allfree Esq., Brighton. 
Ifr. T. Arkcon, Langney. 
Mr. T. Attwood, Lewes. 
T. Attree Esq., Brighton. 
W. W. Attree Esq., London. 
J. T. AuckUmd Esq., Lewes. 



Eail of Burlington, Compton Place. 

Sir C. M. BurreU, M.P., Bart., Knepp Castle. 

Mr. G. P. Bacon, Lewes. 

Mr. Barber, Willingdon. 

F. Baichard Esq., Ashoomb. 

Donald Barclay Esq., Mayfleld. 

Walter O. Barker Esq., Worthing. 

George Basevi Esq., Brighton. 

Mr. W. E. Baxter, Lewes. 

C. Beard Esq., Rottingdean. 

W. Beckwith Esq., Hawkhurst. 

Rev. R. Belany, Arlington. 

C. Belllngham Esq., Brighton. 

Miss S. Bellingham, Rye. 

W. H. Blaauw Esq., Beeehland. 

Mrs. Blaauw, Beeehland. 

John Blaker Esq., jun., Lewes. 

R.W. Blencowe Esq., the Hooke. 

J. G. Blencowe Esq., the Hooke. 

Col. Lonsdale Boldero, Lower Beedlng. 

H. Boldero Esq., Lower Beeding. 

Edward W. Bonham Esq., Calais. 

Miss F. Bonham, Chailey. 

N.Borrer Esq., Pakins. 

Mrs. N. Borrer, Pakins. 

W. Borrer Esq., Henfield. 

W, Borrer Esq., Jun., Cowfbld. 

Rev. C. BouteU, Downham Market. 

Rev. F. A. Bowles, Singleton. 

Rev. W. Bradford, Storrlngton. 

C. Bridger Esq., London. 

A. R. Briggs Esq., Lewes. 

John Britton Esq. F.S.A., London. 

Rev. T. Brockman, Gore Court. 

ReT. J. Broadwood, Wiggenholt. 

W. H. Brooke Esq., Hastings. 

J. Cordy Burrows Esq., Brighton. 

H. M. Burt Esq., London. 

Dedmus Burton Esq., London. 

Joseph Butler Esq., Chichester. 

G. Slade Butler, Esq., Rye. 

Mr. W. Button, Lewes. 



The Earl of Chlehetter, Stanmer. 

The Bishop of Chichester. 

Lord Colchester, Kidbrook. 

Hon. R. Carendish, Compton Place. 

Hon. Robert Cunon, Jun., Paiham Park. 

Very Rev. the Dean of Chieheater. 

Mrs. Walter Campbell, London. 

Wm. Campion Esq., Jan., Danny. 

Rev. Heathoote Campion, Albourae. 

Mi^or G. Kirwan Carr, Brighton. 

MissChallen, Shennanbaiy Park. 

Mr. Alex. Cheale, Uckfleld. 

Rev. H. D. Clarke, Iping. 

Rev. G. H. Clarkaon, Ambeiley. 

John Cobbett Eaq., London. 

JohnColbatch Esq., Brighton. 

Robert Cole Esq., London. 

Rev. J. Constable, Ringmer. 

Rev. Thomas Cooke, Brl^^rton. 

W. Donant Cooper Eaq., F.S.A. London. 

Frederick Cooper Esq., Arundel. 

Mrs. W. H. Cooper, Brighton. 

Rev. G. Miles Cooper, Wifanington. 

G. C. Courthope Esq., WhUigh. 

A. J. Creasy Esq., Brighton. 

Edward Creasy Eaq., London. 

Rev. P. G. Crofts, Mailing House. 

Morgan Culhane Esq., Worthing. 

H. MascaU Curteis E«i., M.P., Windmill 

Hill. 
Mi^or Curteis, 1 



Earl Delawarr, Buckhurst. 

Sir W. Domville, Bt., Easfbonme. 

Lady Domville. 

Mr. W. Davey, Lewes. 

Warborton Davles Esq., Woodgate. 

James Davles Esq., Woodgate. 

Col. F. Davies, Danehurst. 

Mis. F. Davies. 

John Day Esq., Newiek. 

E. S. Dendy Esq., Rouge Dragon, Arundel. 

W. H. Dennett Esq., Worthing. 

Rev. R. N. Dennis, E., Blatehington. 

C. Scraoe Dickens Esq., Coolhurst. 

Thomas Dicker Esq., Lewes. 

W. DUke Esq., Chichester. 

Rev. H. Dixon, Ferring. 

Mrs. F. Dixon, Worthing. 

W. Dobell Esq., Hastings. 

C. DoRlen, Esq., Sennioots. 

Rev. Stair Douglas, Ashling. 

T. D'Oyly Esq., Sexjeant-at-Law, Ashling. 

Mr. J. Dudeney, Lewes. 

W. Dyer Esq., Little Hampton. 



XIV 



SUSSEX ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Earl of Egmont, Cowdny. 

Uight Hon. Thomas EnUne, Compton. 

Sir Henzy EUis, K.H., F.R.8., F.S.A., Britiih 

Museum. 
Richard Edmunds Esq., Worthing. 
T. Dyer Edwards Esq.* Worthing. 
Rev. E. Eedle, 8. Bersted. 
Mi^or-Gen. Ellicombe, Worthing. 
Robert Elliot Eaq., Chichester. 
Joseph Ellis Esq., Brighton. 
Colonel Elwood, Clayton Priory. 
Mrs. Elwood, ditto. 
Thomas Evans Esq., Worthing. 



Mr. W. Fames, CUOe. 

R. H. Faulconer Esq., Lewes. 

John Fearon Esq., Ockenden House. 

H. E. Fennell Esq., Worthing. 

Mr. W. Figg, Lewes. 

Rev. W. A. Fitahugh, Street. 

Humphrey W. Fzeeland Esq., London. 

Rev. P. Freeman, Chichester. 

A. EUlott FuUer Esq., M.P., Rose HiU. 

Mr. W. T. Fuller, Worthing. 

W. Fumer Esq., Brighton. 



Viscount Gage, Firle. 

Rev. C. Oaunt, Isfield. 

F. H. Gell Esq., Lewes. 

Miss Howard Gibbon, Arundel. 

Mrs. Gordon, Newtimber. 

Rev. John Goring, Wiston Park. 

Rev. Joseph Gould, Burwash. 

J. Graham Esq., East Bourne. 

W. G. K. Gratwicke Esq., Ham House. 

Rev. Neville Gream, Rotherfield. 

A. 8. Greene Esq., Mailing. 

Rev. H. H. Greene, Rogate. 

J. Grimshaw Esq., Cowfold. 

Miss Gulston, Grosvenor Square. 



The Yen. Archd. Hare, Herstmonceux. 

Augustus Hare Esq., Herstmonceux. 

Rev. G. Halls, Lewes. 

Mqjor Haly, Plumpton Place. 

Rev. Leveson Vernon Haicourt, Westdean 

House. 
Rev. John Harman, Theobalds, Herts. 
Mr. William Harvey, Lewes. 
Rev. R. Hawkins, Lamberhurst. 
John Heywood Hawkins Esq., F.8.A., Bignor 

Park. 
Rev. E. Craven Hawtrey, D.D., F.S.A., 

Ewhurst. 
Rev. G. 8. Hele, Brighton. 
G. F. Henwood Esq., Brighton. 
Mrs. Hepburn, the Hooke. 
Rev. F. Hepburn, the Hooke. 
Jas. Hepburn Esq., Turvil Place. 
Rev. J. W. Hewett, New Shoreham. 



Charles Hicks Esq., Rye. 
Rev. H. Hoare, Framfleld. 
H. R. Hoare Esq., Framfield. 
Rev. Dr. Holland, Brighton. 
Rev. W. H. Holland, Chichester. 
Rev. T. A. Holland, Poynings. 
Miss Holland, WindmiU Hill. 
Alex. J. Beresford Hope, Esq., M.P. 
George Hoper Esq., ThomhiU. 
John Hoper Esq., Shermanbury. 
Rev. H. Hoper, Portslade. 
Mr. T. Horton, London. 
J. H. Hurdis Esq., Newick. 
Mrs. Hurdis, Newick. 
E. Hussey Esq., 8cotney Castle. 
Rev. A. Hussey, Rottingdean. 
Rev. C. E. Hutchinson, Firle. 
Mrs. Hunt, 8hermanbury Park. 
Mr. C. Hyde, Worthing. 
Mr. J. E. Hyde, Worthing. 



Miss Jackson, Brighton. 
R. Joanes Esq., Tunbridge Wells. 
Edw. Johnson Esq., Chichester. 
John Jones Esq., Fletching. 
Mrs. Ingram, Ades, Chailey. 
Hugh Ingram Esq., Steyning. 



W. P. Kell Esq., Lewes. 

Capt. Hugh Kennedy, Brighton. 

Mrs. King, Coates. 

Joseph Knight Esq., East Lavant. 



Earl of Liverpool, Buxted Park. 

Sir C. M. Lamb, Bart., Beauport. 

Mr. Wm. Lambe, Lewes. 

G. H. Lang Esq., Westminster. 

Rev. G. H. Langdon, Oving. 

Rev. C. J. Laprimaudaye, Graffham. 

Rev. H. Latham, Fittleworth. 

William Law Esq., Brighton. 

Brownlow £. Layard Esq., Lewes. 

Rev. H. Legge, Lavant. 

Miss Tylney Long, Alboume Place. 

Miss Emma Tylney Long, Alboume Place. 

Stephen LowdeU Esq., Lewes. 

Mr. M. A. Lower, Lewes. 

Mr. R. W. Lower, Lewes. 

J. O. Luxford Esq., Higham Park. 



Lady Miller, Froyle Park. 

Sir S. B. P. Micklethwaite, Bart., Iridge. 

Yen. Archd. Manning, Lavington. 

Mrs. Mabbott, Southover, Lewes. 

William Marten Esq., Worthing. 

Rev. T. A. Maberly, Cuckfield. 

John Macrae Esq., Lewes. 

Major McQueen, Chailey. 

Mrs. McQueen, Chailey. 



SUSSEX ARCHiEOLOQICAL SOCIETY. 



XV 



F. Manning Esq., Lymington. 

G. A. liantell Esq., LL.D., F.R.9., London. 
J. H. Markland Esq., D.C.L., Bath. 

John Hornby Maw Esq., Hastings. 

Francis Mewbum Esq., Darlington. 

Rev. £. Miller, Bognor. 

Mr. Miller, Hallsham. 

William Townley Mitford Esq., Pitts HiU. 

Mrs. Monk, Lewes. 

Henry Moon Esq., M.D., Lewes. 

W. Monday Esq., Worthing. 



The Duke of Norfolk. 

Marquis of Northampton. 

H. F. Napper Esq., Guildford. 

C. Newington Esq., Tioehurst. 

6. J. Nicholson Esq., London. 

Mr. J. Noakes, Chiddingly. 

Rev. W. Nourse, Clapham. 

T. Herbert Noyes Esq., East Mascalls, 

field. 
T. Herbert Noyes Esq., jun. 



The Bishop of Oxford. 
Creoige Olliver Esq., Kingston. 
Mrs. W. Olliver, Coortlands. 
Mr. W. Osbom, Arundel. 
Rev. W. Bmere Otter, Cowfold. 



Edward Heneago Paget Esq. 

Colonel Paine, Patcham. 

Miss Paine, Kemp Town. 

Cornelius Paine Esq., jun., Islington. 

Rev. M. Parrington, Chichester. 

Mr. J. L. Parsons, Lewes. 

Mr. C. Parsons, Lewes. 

Misa C. Partington, OfTham. 

George Paul Esq., Worthing. 

Henry Paxton Esq., Westdean. 

Rev. T. W. Perry, Chichester. 

Mr. John Phillips, Worthing. 

J. H. Pickford Esq., M.D., Brighton. 

Miss PUkington, Shopwick. 

Rev. T. Pitman, Eastbourne. 

Rev. W. Plucknett, Horsted Keynes. 

Rev. T. Baden PoweD, Newick. 

Rev. J. P. Power, Maresfield. 

Rev. William Powell. 

Charles PoweU Esq.; Speldhurst. 

James D. Powell Esq., Newick. 

Rev. Richmond Powell, Bury. 

Captain W. Preston, R.N., Borde Hill. 

£. Bedford Price Esq., London. 

C. Prince Esq., jun., Uckfield. 



The Duke of Richmond. 
Lady Elizabeth ReyneU, Avisford. 
R. G. Raper Esq., Chichester. 
James Rock, jun., Esq., Hastings. 
Rev. T. Rooper, Brighton. 



Mr. T. Ross, Hastings. 
Mr. J. C. Rnsaell, Chiddingly. 
The Earl of Shellleld. 
Countess of Sheffield. 
Sir Heniy Shlflher, Bt., Coombe. 
J. VUUers Shelley Eau., Maieafleld Park. 
John Saunders Esq., Worthing. 
Rev. J. Seobell, Lewes. 
J. D. 8. Scott, Esq., Midhurst. 
Rev. G. Shiilher, Hamsey. 
Rev. G.Croxton Shifltaer, Hamsey. 
Thomas ShURier Esq., Westergate. 
Evelyn P. Shirley Esq., Eatlngton, Warwick- 
shire. 
J. T. Simes Esq., Brighton. 
J. H. Slater Esq., Newick Park. 
Miss Slater. 

Rev. Heniy Smith, Densworth. 
Samuel Smith Esq., Charming Dean. 
Mr. J. Russell Smitti, London. 
W. Forster Smythe Esq., Brighton. 
Rev. E. Stansileld, Merston. 
Mrs. Stansfleld, Merston. 
Rev. A. Stead, Ovingdean. 
Miss Stone, Herstmonoeux. 
R. 8. StreatfeOd Esq., the Roeks, Uekfleld. 
W. Saadeford StreatfeUd Esq. 

Hon. Mrs. Thomas. 

Hon. H. Otway Trevor, Glynde. 

Right Rev. W. Trower, D.D., Bishop of 
Glasgow. 

John Terry Esq., Brighton. 

Mr. H. Thatcher, Brighton. 

W. Brodrick Thomas Esq. 

Fred. Ticehurst Esq., Hastings. 

Rev. M. A. Tiemey, F.S.A., Arundel. 

Rov. J. Tomlinson, Middleton. 

G. E. Towry Esq., Heathfleld Park. 

Rev. T. Trocke, Brighton. 

Barnard TroUope Esq., Chichester. 

R. Trotter Esq., Twsrford Lodge. 

Rev. J. C. Tufitaell, Edburton. 

Rev. E. Turner, Maresfield. 

Rev. W. Turner, Boxgrove. 

W. D. B. TumbuU Esq., See. Soe. Ant., Edin- 
burgh. 

Martin Farquhar Tupper Esq., Albnry. 

Nicholas Tyacke Esq., M.D., Chichester. 



Mrs. Edmund Vallance, Brighton. 
Rev. E. Venables, Herstmonoeux. 
Rev. T. S. Vogan, Walberton. 

Earl Waldegrave. 

Lady Victoria Long Wellesley, Alboume Place. 

Sir T. Maiyon WQson, Bt., Searles. 

Mr. Joseph Waghom, Buxted. 

W. S. Walford Esq., London. 

Rev. W. Wallinger, Tunbridge Wells. 

Rev. W. Watkins, Chichester. 

Albert Way, Esq., F.S.A., Wonham, Surrey. 



XVI 



SUSSEX ARCHJSOLOeiCAL SOCIETY. 



Mrs. Weeks, Huntperpoint. 

Rev. W. Weguelin, South Stoke. 

Rev. H. Wellesley, D.D., Principal of New Inn 

Hall, Oxford. 
Rev. W. Wheeler, New Shorehun. 
AUred Whiteman Eaq., Eaatboume. 
T. Whitfeld Esq., Lewes. 
Rev. Spencer D. Wilde, Fletefaing. 
Rev. W. Downes Willis, Elsted. 



R. Wollaston Esq., Woodhatch. 
H. Wood Esq., Ovingdean. 
Rev. O. Woods, Westdctn. 
Joseph Woods Esq., Lewes. 
Mrs. Woodward, fiellinglr. 
Miss Woodward, Uckfield. 
Rev. Dr. Wrench, Salehurst. 
Rev. T. Wyatt, Cisshnrjr. 
Hugh Wyatt Esq., Cissbury. 



^80ociat^. 



R. Breton Esq., Pevensey. 
M. I'Abbe Coehet, Dieppe. 
M. de Gorvffle, Valofnes. 



Mr. H. Plajsted, London. 
Mr. T. Wells, Hurstperpolnt. 



&n&m 9lrrt)aeolosual CoUetttoniai. 



DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 

COLLECTED BY THE REV. JOHN 8HABPB, LATE CURATE OF SHIPLEY, 
AND COMlfUiriCATED BY 

SIR CHARLES MERRIK BURRELL, BART., M.P.; 
WITH REMARKS, BY W. H. B. 

(read at ARUNDEL, AUGUST 9, 1849.) 



Or the six great feudal fortresses, each of which anciently 
defended a Rape of Sussex, one only has added the mag- 
nificence of modem luxury to the sternness of its antique 
strength ; while four of the others have long been reduced to 
scanty ruins, and the sixth was in very early times purposely 
destroyed, and its site occupied by a monastery. 

Knepp Castle, in the parish of Shipley, though never one 
of the principal strongholds, aiid though a ruin for more than 
600 years, was frequently the residence of a king, and is said 
to have exhibited, even in the last century, considerable traces 
of its extent within the angle of two small streams falling 
ultimately into the river Adur. West of the ruins is a field, now 
called Town Field, which was an approach by a raised road, 
and a bridge, probably a drawbridge. 

There remains of it now only the broken wall of a single 
tower, with a flat buttress, upon a small mound ;^ but its de- 
molition is not due either to war or neglect. The period 
of its history, authenticated by the few documents relating to 
it, is very brief; and it will be seen that it is all comprised 
within the reign of King John, into whose hands, together 
with Bramber, it had been seized on the forfeiture of William 
de Braose. This nobleman had incurred the king's anger by 

1 For a view in 1775, see Grose, vol, iii, where the succession of owners is also detailed. 

III. 1 



2 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 

various disputes and refusals to pay fines for his large posses- 
sions in Ireland, and at last escaped to die at Paris in 1212, 
his wife and eldest son William having perished at Windsor 
in prison, in 1210. It is to this circumstance that we owe 
the following notices of Knepp in the national archives, and 
even these will be found to refer as much to the timber 
and game of the adjoining forest as to the Castle. Indeed 
the necessity of providing a store of food for the winter in 
those times, made hunting in the forests an urgent duty. 

King John was at Knepp on April 8, 1206 ; on January 6, 
and again from May 28 to June 1, in 1209 ; from April 6 
to 9, in 1211 ; and from January 21 to 24, in 1215 ; and 
it will be seen that his Queen Isabella made a residence of 
eleven days here, in 1214-15. Some confusion arising from 
the regnal years of King John commencing from the move- 
able feast of the Ascension, it is sufficient here to state that 
they were generally reckoned from May to May. 

At his first visit the king signed an order to protect the 
men and lands of Himiphrey le Dene against any lawsuits, 
as long as he should be absent in Ireland on the king's ser- 
vice. 10th John, Rot. Pat. 

Most of the deeds are addressed to Roeland Bloet, who 
seems to have been the king's confidential agent at Knepp, 
Cnapp, or Cnappe, as it was variously named. The castle was 
a member of the honor of Bramber. The documentary ex- 
tracts were originally collected by the Rev. John Sharpe, when 
curate of Shipley, the learned translator of William of Malms- 
bury, who also assisted in preparing the materials for [ Monu- 
menta Historica Britannica,' lately pubhshed by government. 

" I^e King to Roeland Bloety 8fc. — ^We send to you Michael 
de Puning, commanding that you permit him to take all the 
fat deer he can without the park at Cnapp : as well by bow as 
by his dogs ; and that you cause them to be salted (salm) ; and 
act for our advantage, as well concerning their flesh as their 
skins (tam de carne quam de coriis). Witness ourselves, at 
Durham, the 5th day of September." (1212.) 14^ Joh., Rot. 
Claus., p. 123. 

" The King to Roeland Bloet, 8fc, — ^We command you to 
find necessaries for Wido, the huntsman, with two horses and 



DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 3 

22 dogs, and two assistant keepers (Bernariis),* and one lad 
(garcione) ; and to Nigel, the huntsman, with two huntsmen, 
and 28 dogs, and two assistant keepers, and one lad ; and to 
Gilbert de Montibus, with two horses, and 21 dogs, and two 
assistant keepers, and one lad, whom we send to you to hunt 
in the forest of Cnappe, so long as they shall be with you ; 
and the cost you shall be at for this shall be computed to you, at 
the Exchequer. Witness ourselves, at Wingeham {co. Kent), 
the 31st day of May." (1213.) 15*^ Joh., Rot. Claus., pp. 134, b. 

" TIte King to Roeland BloeU 8fc. — We send to you John 
de Beauchamp, with 24 dogs, one assistant keeper, one lad, 
and two horses ; and Alberic de Capella, with 22 dogs, one 
keeper, one lad, and two horses ; and Richard Pincun, with 
20 dogs, one assistant keeper, one lad, and one horse : com- 
mandmg you to cause them to hunt in the forest of Cnappe ; 
and that you find necessaries for them so long as they shall 
be with you, according to our order ; that is to say, to the 
aforesaid John with two horses, and to the aforesaid Alberic 
with* two horses, until the time of grass (usque ad tempus 
herbae) ; and that when the time of grass shall come, you 
find necessaries for them, for their respective horses ; and the 
cost you shall be at for the above shall, on the inspection and 
testimony of reputable men, be computed to you at the 
Exchequer. Witness ourselves, at Wingeham, the 1st day of 
June, in the 15th year of our reign." (1213.) 15® Joh., Rot. 
Claus., pp. 134, b. 

" The King to Boeland Bloet, 8fc. — We command you to 
find necessaries for Michael de Columbariis, with one horse 
and 24 dogs, at Cnapp, until we send for them ; and the cost 
you shall be at for this shaQ, on the inspection and testimony 
of reputable men, be computed to you at the Exchequer. 
Witness ourselves, at Ospringe (w. Keni), the 5th day of 
June, in the 15th year of our reign ; and that you cause these 
dogs to hunt in the forest, with the other dogs in your cus- 
tody." (1213.) 15® Joh., Rot. Claus., p. 135. 

^ Bemariis has been interpreted ''keepers of boar-hounds ;'' bat the word is more 
probably synonymous with '* Berrceriis/' sbirri, inferior officers, keepers ; their pay was 3<f. 
a day in the time of Henry II. (Lib. Nigr. Scacc.) 



4 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 

" 2^e King to Boeland Bloety greeting. — ^We send to yoii 
Wyot, NigeU, May, Richard de Brademar, and Herbert de 
Foxkot, our huntsmen, with 10 lads and 5 keepers, and 10 
horses, and 114 dogs of the pack (de mota), and 5 grey- 
hounds, to hunt for deer, in the park at Cnapp : and we com- 
mand you to find them in reasonable expenses as long as they 
shall be with you, for which it shall be computed to you at 
the Exchequer. Witness ourselves, at the Tower of London, 
the 28th day of December, in the 15th year of our reign." 
(1213.) IS** Joh., Rot. Claus., p. 158, b. 

" I%e King to the same. — ^We send to you, Henry the son 
of Baldwin, the keeper of the hounds (veltrarium),^ with 18 
keepers, his fellows, and 220 of our greyhounds (leporariis), 
to hunt the does in the park at Enapp ; commanding you to 
find them in reasonable expenses so long as they shall be 
with you, for which it shall be computed to you at the 
Exchequer. Witness as above.'* (1213.) 15"* Joh., Rot. Claus., 
p. 158, b. 

" The King to the Barons of the Exchequer, 8fc. — Compute 
to Roeland Bloet the cost he has been at since his last reckon- 
ing, on the inspection and reckoning of reputable men, in the 
pay for our huntsmen, hounds, and carpenters, at several 
times, and in keeping, strengthening,"and repairing our castles 
of Brambell {Bramber) and Cnapp, according to our order ; 
and in the pay of the mariners (marinellorum), sent in 10 
ships on our service to Dover ; and in carrying timber from 
St. Leonard's Forest to the sea, for the purpose of constructing 
our hall at Dover, according to our order ; and in 50 leashes 
for dogs (copulis) from our forest of Cnapp to Binindon 
{Benenden, co. Kent), as our gift according to our order. 
Compute also to the same Roeland the cost he has been at 
in making bridges and hurdles (in cleiis faciendis), by our 
order ; and in the carriage of brushwood (buscae), to Corf 
{Corfe, CO. Dorset) and Dover, and in inclosing our park at 
Cnapp, and in repairing the Stew-pond, according to our 
order; and for 18 casks of wine, bought for our service, and 

' From yeltris, canis sagax vd odorisequus; veltro, It. ; viautre, Pr. ; yertragus, Martial » 
Epig. 14, 200; velt-jagher, field-ranger. 



DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 5 

expended at our several comings, by our order. Witness 
ourselves, at Eysse {Aixe^ in Angovleme)^ the 2l8t day of 
March, in the 15th year of our reign." (1214.) 15*" Joh., 
Rot. Glaus., p. 142. 

" The King to Bichard Bloet. — ^We order you to send all 
the wild boars and sows (porcos et layas)* which are in your 
custody to Portsmouth, in ships of your bailiwick, which are 
about to proceed there^ so that they be there, all excuse 
being put aside, on the morrow of S. Hilary at latest, and it 
shall be computed to you at the Exchequer. Witness as 
above." 

" The King to Boeland Bloet, 8fc. — ^We send to you, Wyot 
our huntsman, and his fellowes, to hunt in our forest of 
Cnapp, with our boar-hounds (canibus porkaricis), to the end 
that they may take daily two or three boars (porcos). We will, 
however, that none of our good dogs shall hunt there ; and 
that you should see every day what they take. Also, that 
you be with us at London, on the Sunday next following the 
feast of St. Martin {Nov, 11); and in the meantime that 
you send one of your soldiers (militibus), who may be with 
them in those parts ; and that you supply them with neces- 
saries. And the cost you shall be at for this purpose shall, 
by the inspection and testimony of reputable persons, be com- 
puted to you at the Exchequer. Witness ourselves at Reilegh, 
{CO. Essex), the 8th day of November." (1214.) 16^ Rot. Glaus., 
p. 182. 

" The King to Boeland Bloet, greeting. — ^We command you 
that hereafter you neither fell, nor cause to be felled, anything 
in the park or forest of Cnapp. Witness ourselves, at Wode- 
stock, the 26th of November.'^ (1214.) 16^ Rot. Glaus., p. 179. 

" The King to the Barons of the Exchequer. — ^Pay to Hugo 
de Nevil the cost he has been at in conveying a thousand 
marks from Merleberg {Marlborough) to Cnapp, and from 
Cnapp to Audibum, and from Audiburn {Aldingburn) to 

^ " Layas/' the Latinised fonn of the French word " Laie, femelle d'un sanglier/' 
(Diet, de r Acad.) 



6 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 

Winchester, on the inspection and testimony of reputable 
persons. Witness ourselves, at Merleberg, the 9th day of 
February, in the 16th year of our reign." (1215.) 16® Joh., Rot. 
Claus., p. 184, b. 

" Tlie King to his Barons of the Exchequer, — ^Pay to 
Robert Bloet, on the inspection and testimony of reputable 
persons, the cost he has been at for 19 days, for William the 
son of Richard, with 3 horses, and 114 greyhounds, and 25 
keepers of the hounds, and 3 assistant keepers; and for 
Alberic the hunter, with 2 horses and 16 dogs of the pack ; and 
for Richard Pinchun, with 2 horses and 13 dogs of the pack ; 
and for Adam Chewerr, with 2 horses and 2 dogs of the 
pack ; and for Robert de Stanton, with 2 horses and 5 beagles, 
(berserettis) ; and for William May, with 2 horses and 4 
beagles ; and for Gibbun, with 2 horses and 3 beagles ; and 
for Philip Pitte, with 2 horses and 2 beagles ; and for Alex- 
ander, the valet of our son Richard,^ with one horse and 3 . 
beagles. Pay also to the same Roeland the cost he has been 
at, on the inspection and testimony of reputable men, for 
Robert our fisherman, with 2 horses, for 38 days. Pay also 
to the same 19*. 6^., which he has laid out, on the inspecticfn 
and testimony of reputable men, for the purchase of two 
nets for our use ; and 4/. 19*. for one cask of wine, on the 
inspection and testimony of reputable men, which he dis- 
bursed in the expences of our Lady the Queen,^ during eleven 
days' residence at Cnapp. Pay also to the same 8^ marks, 
which he paid to Henry Fitz Count (fiho comitis ?) by our 
order, and one mark which he paid to Hugo Pantulf, by our 
order. Pay also to the same 18*., which he expended, on 
the inspection and testimony of creditable persons, in the 
journey of our Lady the Queen from Cnapp to Merleberg. 
Witness ourselves, at Sutton {co, Surrey), the 6th day of 
March, in the 16th year of our reign." (1215.) 16** Joh., 
Rot. Claus., p. 190. 

When King John was involved in disputes with his own 
barons, and threatened with foreign invasion, it was of the 

^ After the death of W. de Braose, in 1212, a grant of the Barony of Bramber was 
made to Prince Richard, earl of Cornwall, afterwards king of the Romans. 
® Though the exact date of the queen's visit to Knepp is not fixed, it was probably recent. 



DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 7 

utmost importance to him to secure the Castle of Dover ; and 
accordingly we find him active in using the timber of Knepp 
Forest for the construction of those ponderous warUke ma- 
chines which were then used for attack and defence. The 
difficulty of sending along bad roads these huge wooden 
towers, corded up in frame, and ready for use, must have been 
great. When Prince Louis besieged Dover in July, 1216, 
he used a famous engine of like nature, given him by his 
father, and called * Mai Voisin ;' but the heart of oak from 
Knepp, and the courage of Hubert de Burgh were effectual, 
even against the ' evil neighbour.' 

" P.,^ dy the grace of God Bishop of Winchester, to the 
Sheriff of Snssew, greeting. — ^We command you to cause the 
timber which the carpenters, whom William Brieg may send 
into the forest of Knapp, shall fell within the same wood, to 
be carried to Dover, for the works of the Castle there ; and the 
cost which you shall have been at for this purpose we will 
cause to be paid to you at the Exchequer. Witness Master 
E. de Falcoberg, at the Tower of London, the 23d day of June, 
in the 16th year of the reign of King John." (1214.) 16* 
Joh., Rot. Claus., p. 207. 

" P. Bishop of Winchester to the Bailiffs of Roeland Bloet, 
greeting, — ^We command you, inasmuch as you regard the 
honour of our Lord the King, that, as soon as you see these 
letters, you cause all the carpenters within your baUiwick to 
assemble in the forest of Kneppe; and that you cause these 
carpenters, as weU as those whom the sheriff of Sussex® will 
send to you, to feU and lop and prepare timber (prsestemere, 
eskapellare et parare meheremium) in the same forest, as 
Richard de Popleshall and Baldwin the carpenters shaQ direct ; 
and the said timber to be carried by service (de prece) as far 
as the sea, and by sea, at the expence of our Lord the King, as 
far as Dover. And the cost which you shall have been at, 
for felling, lopping, and carrying the said timber by sea, on 
the inspection of the aforesaid, shall be paid you at the 

7 Peter des Roclies, a person of historical importance, was chief justiciary at this time, 
and bishop of Winchester from 1204 to 1238. 

* Matthew Fitz Herbert was, at this time and many subsequent years to 1219, shejiff 
of Sussex. 



8 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 

Exchequer. Witness ourselves, at Dover, the 12th day of 
August, in the 16th year of our Lord King John/' (1214.) 
le^'Joh., Rot. Pat, p. 210. 

The crisis of the king's fate was now approaching ; the dis- 
contented barons had been received by the Londoners in 
triumph, on Sunday, May 24, and on June 19 Magna Charta 
was signed ; after which the king immediately prepared to 
annul it. A subsequent order alludes to the foreign merce- 
naries whom he had invited over, and whom he personally 
welcomed at Dover on their arrival, Sept. 1, 1215. 

" 7^e King to Beuland Bloet, gteetina. — Know ye that the 
citizens of London have surrendered the city of London to 
our enemies, on Sunday next before the feast of St. Dunstan, 
in the morning, of their free will (spontanea volunfate). 
Wherefore we command you, without delay, to transfer all 
the stores (attractum^) which you have at Knapp or elsewhere, 
and which you may be able to gather, to Bremble ; and that 
you fortify that house in the best possible manner you can, 
while resident in that castle ; that you destroy altogether the 
houses at Knapp. In testimony of which we send you these 
letters. Witness ourselves, at Freemantle {IHgidumMantellum, 
CO, Hant8)y the 18th day of May, in the 16th year of our reign." 
(1214.) 16^ Joh., Rot. Pat., p. 137, b. 

'* Tfie King to all who are about to come to England in his 
service, health,— We command you that you do what our 
beloved and faithful Roeland Bloet shall tell you on our behalf, 
and in witness whereof myself, at Winchester, 20th day of 
May, in the 16th year of oiu- reign." (1214.) 16^ Joh., Rot 
Pat., p. 137, b. 

The following documents denote the anxiety of the king to 
secure Bramber and Knepp castles in the approaching struggle, 
WiUiam, the sixth Earl of Warenne, the king's first cousin, had 
always remained true to him, and had been frequently a surety to 

' *^ Attractum" seems to answer to the French * attrahiere/ acquirements ohtained by 
labour, in distinction from what is bought or given ; it may here refer to the timber or 
other product of the forest, prepared for the Dover machines. 



DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 9 

the barons for the perfonnance of the king's promises; but 
even he joined the IVench Prince Louis in 1216. 

*' TlieKing to Betdend Bloet^ greeting. — ^We command you, 
strongly enjoining, that when our beloved and faithful 
'Vf, earl of Warren, or any of his people (aliqui de suis), shall 
come to you, to receive him, and his men whom he may 
bring with him, into our castles of Bremble and Knappe, to 
remain in them as long as they choose, in witness whereof we 
send you these. Witness ourselves, at Windsor, the 22d day 
of May, in the 16th year of our reign/' (1214.) 16'' Joh., Rot. 
Pat., p. 168. 

At this time Eang John thought it poUtic to come to terms 
with the Braose faimly, and to restore Bramber and Knepp, 
not indeed to the heir, son of him who had perished in prison 
four years previously, but to his uncle Giles, bishop of Here- 
ford, who, after having actively taken the part of the barons 
against the king, and recovered by force some of the family 
castles in Wales, had now recently made his submission, and 
having paid a fine, received the king's pardon and a grant of 
the hereditary property of the Braoses. The following letter 
authorises him to have seizin of Knepp Castle, but the bishop 
unfortunately died in less than a month, November 17, 1216, 
when about to assume possession. John de Monmouth, then 
appointed the temporary warden of Knepp, had been a wealthy 
ward of the bishop's father. To ensure the delivery of the 
castle, the king sent his half-brother, William Longespee, earl 
of Salisbury, who had steadily adhered to him ; but at length 
the personal wrongs inflicted on him by the king's vices drove 
this earl also, hke Warenne, to desert him in the following 
year, and join the French prince Louis. 

" TIte King to Boeland Bloet, 8fc, — Know ye that we have 
received our venerable father, E.^° bishop of Hereford, into 
our full favour, and have restored to him all the lands, tene- 
ments, and castles of which his father was seized as in fee, in 
consideration of the fine which the bishop has paid to us on 
that account. We, together with the bishop aforesaid, have 
committed to John of Monemouth the castle of Bremble, with 

^^ Egidius, GUes de Braose, bishop of Hereford, 1200-1216. 



10 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 

its appurtenances, to be kept till a certain term, under special 
condition made between us and the bishop. Wherefore we 
command you, immediately, without delay, to surrender the 
castle of Bremble to the said John of Monmouth ; and that 
you cause, without delay, the same bishop to have full seizin 
of Cnappe, with its houses and all its appurtenances, and of 
all lands and tenements of which his father was seized in fee, 
within your baiUwick. In testimony moreover of which we 
send you these letters patent. Witness ourselves, at Ro- 
chester, the 20th day of October, in the 17th year of our reign. 
And that you should no further delay to execute this 
command, and that you may the more securely deUver up the 
castles aforesaid, as is enjoined, we send to you our brother 
WiUiam, who shall teU you by word of mouth, on our part, that 
you should give them up." (1215.) 17^ Joh., Rot. Pat., p. 157. 

" l^ie King to the Constable of Bremble, 8fc. — Know that we 
have intrusted to Wilekin Bloet the castle of Bremble, to be 
kept in his custody as long as it shall please us ; and there- 
fore we command you, that you deUver to him the said castle 
without delay, as the bearer of these presents, John, clerk of 
John de Monmouth, shall teU you, and in witness hereof we 
send him. Witness myself, at Rochester, 1st day of Decem- 
ber." (1215.) 17^ Joh., Rot. Pat., p. 160. 

" The King to the Constable of Cnappe, 8fc. — ^We command 
you, without delay, to deUver up to our beloved and faithful 
Reuland Bluet, the castle of Cnappe, with all its appurte- 
nances, to keep during our pleasure : in testimony of which 
we send you these. Witness ourselves, at Rochester, the 25th 
day of November, in the 17th year of our reign. And it is 
commanded to aU of the honour of Cnappe, to be obedient 
and amenable to the same Reuland, as the bailiff of our Lord 
the King." (1215.) 17^ Joh., Rot. Pat., p. 160. 

The above and succeeding documents were occasioned by 
the sudden death of the newly-restored bishop. Godfrey de 
Craucumb, who had apparently become warden of Knepp 
Castle, had been employed by the king to convey from Ireland 
to Bristol the bold Maud de Braose, on her seizure with her 



DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 11 

son. She seems to have irritated the king by promises of 
purchasing her husband William de Braose's pardon, by 
40,000 marcs, which she afterwards refused to pay. 

" The King to Godefroy de Craucumbj 8fc, — ^We command 
you to deliver up the castle of Cnappe, and the honour of 
Brember, with all which we had restored to the bishop of 
Hereford, in case you have already received them, to our be- 
loved and faithftd Reuknd Bloet, without delay, to be kept 
during our pleasure. In testimony of which we send you 
these. Witness ourselves, at Rochester, the 26th day of Novem- 
ber, in the 17th year of our reign." (1216.) 17" Joh., Rot. Pat. 

" Hie King to Boeland Bloet, greeting. — ^We send to you 
Master Nicholas, conmianding that you cause to be made, 
without delay, in the forest of Knappe, as many good engine- 
towers called Turkese (petrarias Tm-kesias") as you can .... 
\^M8, defective^ .... to Dover, ready and prepared with ropes 
and other things belonging to them ; and let the aforesaid 
Nicholas have his pay as long as he shall be with you, .... 
pence a day. Witnessed at Folkestone, 3d day of May." (1216.) 
17 Joh., Rot. aaus., p. 267, b. 

" T/ie King to Boeland Bloety 8fc. — ^We command you to 
cause the castle of Cnappe, without delay, to be burnt and de- 
stroyed (comburi et dirui), and in testimony of which we send 
you these. Witness ourselves, at Wilton, the 13th day of 
June, in the 18th year of our reign." (1216.) 18" Joh., Rot. 
Pat., p. 187. 

Whether this peremptory order was immediately acted upon 
is unknown ; but it may partly account for the early disap- 
pearance of Knepp Castle from history, and the removal of 
the garrison at this time seems confirmed by a subsequent 
order, when the king, at Leymenestre {Leominster^ co. Here- 
ford), on July 31, 1216, granted a safe conduct to the men of 

" "Petraria," or petreria, petrorita, periere, Pr., was a large wooden tuiret^ used in 
sieges, to cast missiles firom ; and this particular fort acquired the name of ' Turkasia,' or 
Tharcassia, carquols, Fr., a quiver. It was distinct from the mangonel, being often men- 
tioned with it. 



12 DOCUMENTS RELATING TO KNEPP CASTLE. 

Roeland Bloet, allowing them to pass freely with their bag- 
gage (hamesimri) in any direction, without hindrance. Rot. 
Pat., p. 192. 

As King John died on October 19, only four months later 
than the order of demolition, it is not at all probable that it 
was fiilly executed in that short period, in the midst of civil 
war, and with such imperfect methods of destruction as were 
then known ; but fire could easily have rendered Knepp Castle 
uninhabitable by a garrison, and so the king's object would be 
fulfilled. A similar order of destruction was also given with 
respect to Pevensey Castle, on the earl de Warenne's defection 
at this time. 

In the pressure of civil war. King John, though ready to 
order the demolition of his own castle, yet was at times will- 
ing to ensure the safety of his subjects by a compromise, and 
very recently, on June 9, 1216, from Devizes, he had ad- 
dressed to the barons of Winchelsea a permission, in case of 
a descent of his enemy. Prince Louis of Prance, upon that 
town, to offer him 200 marcs, to exempt the town from fire 
and damage. 18% Rot. Pat., p. 187. 

There are but few subsequent notices of Knepp in the 
Records. In 1218 there is a deed addressed to WiUiam de 
Braose, relating to the honour of Cnapp (2'' Hen. Ill, Rot. 
Pat.) In 1280, April 13, an order from William de Braose 
to his bailiff* is dated from Kneppe (Cartwright's Bramber). 
In 1323-4 there is a grant allowing Alionora, widow of John 
de Mowbray, to surrender to Hugh le Dispenser, earl of 
Winchester, the notorious favourite of Edward II, the castle 
and manor of Brembre in fee, and the manors of Knapp, 
Shoreham, Horsham, and Beaubusson, in the county of 
Sussex. 17** Edw. II, Rot. Pat. 

The park of Knepp was however preserved ; and, in the 
Tower Rolls, 1400, Pat. 1" Hen. IV, " the King appoints 
John Pilton park-keeper of Knap Park, with the wages of 
2c?. a day, and other perquisites, during the minority of 
Thomas Mowbray, son and heir of the late earl of Nottingham." 

Following the fate of Bramber, the property of Knepp fell 
into the hands of the crown four times within 26 years, 
between 1546 and 1572, on so many successive attainders in 
the Howard family. 







^ -^i^'J^S^v&.Hiv-i^l 






Hro^gi:*- 



ON AN ANCIENT RECTORY-HOUSE, 

IN THE PARISH OP WEST DEAN, 
WITH SOME REMARKS ON THE CHURCH. 

BY THE REV. GEORGE MILES COOPER. 
(read at bbiohton, dec. 6, 1849.) 



In the viflage of West Dean, near Seaford, is an ancient 
structure, possessing, I think, a considerable degree of interest, 
as a specimen of the domestic architecture of the middle 
ages. Residences of the nobility and dignified ecclesiastics 
of those times, in tolerable preservation, are of not unfre- 
quent occurrence; the skill and soUdity with which they 
were constructed, and the opulence of those great families or 
official personages who have been their successive possessors, 
having secured them from the ordinary fate of meaner and 
more fragile edifices. 

But specimens so complete as this, of what may be con- 
sidered as the dweUing-houses of the middle class of the 
people in that remote period, have not so often fallen under 
my own observation : and if I shall be able to show, by pro- 
bable evidence, that this is one of the few instances of small 
houses belonging to the 14th century, which have survived 
the wreck of time, and come down almost unimpaired to the 
19th, those who are interested in the study of antiquities will 
perhaps judge it to be worthy of some public notice. 

This curious house, which belongs to the rectory, stands 
contiguous to the churchyard, and is now tenanted by two 
labourers. It is built, with a lavish expenditure for its size, 
of stone and oak timber ; the former excellently cut for the 
quoins, copings, door-arches, and muQions of the windows. 
Its walls are about 14^ feet high, and 2ft. 6in. thick. It is 
distinguished by what I believe is generally thought a mark 



14 ANCIENT RECTORY-HOUSE 

of high antiquity, a staircase (Plate I, fig. 1), whose walls, of 
very solid masonry, project externally, square without, and 
semi-cylindrical within, roofed over with stone of good work- 
manship, and attached to the north end of the house. This 
contains a spiral stair of stone, forming the communication 
between the two stories, the floor between which consists of 
massive beams (15 in. by 8 in.), and joists (5 to 7 in. by 5 in.) ; 
the entrances to the stairs, both above and below, being mas- 
sive pointed arches, of equilateral proportion (Plate II, fig. 4). 
The doors themselves are of oak, presenting, together with 
their fittings, the appearance of great age. A small cellar, 
half sunk below the surface, at the south end, seems to have 
served for a store ; as does also a singular projecting part at 
the south-west comer of the building, which is of quadran- 
gular form, and had originally no light. A loft, extending 
the whole length of the roof, which is comparatively modem, 
lighted by two small, unglazed windows at the north end, and 
accessible, only by a ladder, may once have answered the 
same pxu^ose, but has long ceased to be used at all. Of the 
fireplaces, the one below is so much disguised by modem 
alterations, that I can hardly conjecture its origiual cha- 
racter ; but that in the chamber above remaiAS as at first, a 
spacious hearth, raised above the floor, and covered with a 
projecting funnel (Plate II, fig. 3), which rests upon two 
brackets, the whole of stonework, plain but substantial. 

Upon a comparison of the two buildings, one might be led, 
by general appearances, to assign to the rectory about the 
same date as to the adjacent church. Both are bmlt of the 
same material, flint, faced with the green sandstone, found on 
the coast at Eastbourn, and so much used in the churches of 
this neighbourhood. This forms here the mullions of the 
windows, the arches, and other ornamental work, with occa- 
sionally a small admixture, in the church, of sandstone of a 
reddish colour. The house bears every note of a genuine 
structure, unaltered in its main features to an extent which is 
at first sight surprising, if it belong to the period which I 
suppose. 

There is no record that I am aware of, nor any tradition 
going far back, which directly throws light upon the history 
of this ancient building. But there are certain sources of 





'^'LfjT DFAN 



i\TER'CR , .: ROUND rtOOR 



^^-^-Ji 



^ H.A 0,!$vJ.lttk 



• IN THE PARISH OF WEST DEAN. 15 

infonnation which may perhaps enable us to frame a pix)bable 
conjecture as to its origin and date. I find in the charters of 
the Norman Abbey of St. Mary Grestein, as given in the 
* Monasticon/ that amongst its English possessions were the 
churches of East Dean and West Dean. It is well known 
that the Priory of Wilmington was a cell of that foreign 
abbey ; and amongst the references given by Tanner, relating 
to this priory, is one which mentions that the " Prior de Wil- 
mington habet in proprios usus ecclesiam de Wilmington et 
ecclesias sive prsebendas de Est-dene et JFeatliam. — ^The 
latter I take to be erroneously written Westham for West- 
dene ; since West Dean is expressly named in the charters 
above alluded to, whereas no mention is there made of West- 
ham. At any rate it is certain that the church of West 
Dean formed part of the possessions of St. Mary Grestein, of 
which the prior and monks of Wilmington were first the ad- 
ministrators and eventually the possessors. My conjecture 
therefore is, that by them was bmlt the rectory-house. The 
edifice, small as it is, would be too costly for the incumbent 
of so moderate a preferment to have erected for himself; 
whilst it would be quite in keeping with the ampler resources 
and possibly better taste of the monastery. The architectural 
details also exhibited in the accompanying drawings, will 
be found, I think, to confirm the supposition I venture to 
make. 

Now if it be conceded that the house was erected by the 
Benedictine monks of Wilmington, this will enable us to 
assign an approximate date. For as the priory was sup- 
pressed towards the end of the reign of Henry IV, and its 
estates transferred to the cathedral church of Chichester, the 
chapter of which was confirmed in possession by statute 
1 and 2 Henry V, the erection of the building must have 
been antecedent to 1413, the year of Henry Vth's accession. 
The priory owed its origin to a grant of the manor of Wil- 
mington to the Abbey of Grestein, in the reign of William I, 
by Robert earl of Moreton ; and it appears from the charter 
that the church of West Dean was part of the original gift 
of that, nobleman, about the end of the 11th century. From 
these grounds, then, I am disposed to infer that this rectory- 
house is not far short, if at all, of being 500 years old ; 



16 ANCIENT RECTORY-HOUSE 

having been first designed as a cell for the residence of one 
or more monks, to whom the pastoral care of the parishioners, 
the public services of the church, and perhaps the manage- 
ment of its temporalities, were committed. 

Its preservation during so long a period may be partly ac- 
counted for by the seclusion of its situation. The village of 
West Dean is, and always has been, extremely small, the popu- 
lation at present being only 129 : it is embosomed in the 
hiUs,with no public road through it ; a striking example of a 
sequestered Southdown hamlet. 

The church bears evident marks of higher antiquity than 
the date of its transfer to the chapter of Chichester, a. d. 1413. 
It is of the simplest form (Plate III, fig. 2), a parallelogram, 
with a beU-tower at the west end, surmounted by a low irre- 
gular four-sided spire. The extreme internal length is 69 feet, 
the width 16 feet. It contains several features of architec- 
tural interest — ^proofs doubtless of the pious care of the priors, 
its early patrons. In the chancel are two mural recesses 
under arched canopies ; the one of great simplicity of design 
and ancient character ; the other (Plate IV, fig. 3) more de- 
corated, and with the appearance of having been at some 
time used as a ministerium or sepulchrum Christi. 

There is reason to think that they were monuments of some 
family of distinction settled in this place at an early period. 
It appears from the records of Edward the First's journeys in 
Sussex, that this monarch, when staying at Lewes, paid a 
morning visit to West Dean, and dated a writ from thence, 
on the 25th of June, 1305. (See Stiss, Arch, Coll.y vol. II, 
pp. 156-7.) A manor-house of some importance, owned 
and occupied early in the 17th century by the Thomas 
family, was pulled down about twenty-five years since, 
having been long used as a farmhouse, and being then too 
much dilapidated for repair. An elaborate monument of 
some members of that family, date 1639, is in the chancel of 
the church. 

There appears to have been nothing to separate the nave 
from the chancel but a wooden screen (removed not many 
years ago), and a rood-loft ; part of the stone stair leading 
into the latter is still visible, inserted in the north wall behind 
the pulpit. But at the western end a circular arch (Plate IV, 




ii.A Oz^ :^d. 




MC^g:.-r 



IN THE PARISH OF WEST DEAN. 17 

fig. 6) of considerable beauty, 6 feet 4 inches in span, spring- 
ing from short shafts, each consisting of three clustered round 
piUars 1 foot 9 inches high, with capitals 4 inches high, and 
bases 7^ inches high, of roll moulding, resting upon solid piers 
of squared stone 4 feet high — Pleads from the nave through a 
narrow belfry (7 feet wide) to the western door. 

In the east window (Plate III, fig. 6), 13 feet high and 7 feet 
broad, the mullions branch off into circular arches on each 
side, the intersections of which form the compartments for 
the tracery with which the head is filled. Immediately below 
it, across the whole width of the chancel, runs a string-course 
(Plate IV, fig. 4) of early English or decorated pattern, a roll 
moulding, of which the upper part overlaps the lower. The 
two south windows (Plate III, figs. 3, 4) have their jambs 
considerably splayed ; that to the east, 4 feet 6 inches by 
1 foot four inches, is a single, the other, 6 feet 3 inches 
by 3 feet 9 inches, a double light, with a circular head, 
including a sexfoU, both having the interior recesses neatly 
arched. 

The window next the porch is a modem insertion. A 
narrow single window on the north side, 4 feet 10 inches by 
1 foot 3 inches, gives light to the pulpit. The above are all 
of pointed trefoil. On the outside of the north wall, towards 
the tower, is a small window of very rude character, probably 
Norman, 1 foot 9 inches by 6 inches, now stopped with flint- 
work (Plate III, fig. 6.) The west window is of the perpen- 
dicular style. 

In the opening of the single south window, just without 
the altar-rail, is a piscina, let into the wall, and inclosed 
between columns terminated above by the bottom of the 
recess of the window (Plate III, fig. 4 ; Plate IV, fig. 2) ; this 
gives them a truncated appearance, though probably at first 
so constructed. The basin is elegantly scalloped, radiating 
from the centre. The remains of a stoup for holy water, 
broken off close to the surface of the wall, are on the east 
side of the south entrance. 

The font is square and massive, placed upon a raised base 
near the west door, supported in the centre by the usual 
cylindrical drain, and at the comers by four octagonal pillars ; 

III. 2 



18 ANCIENT EECTOEY-HOUSE 

like most of the stonework of these two buildings, it is in 
perfect preservation. The earliest date one can assign to all 
these details, except the west window, seems to be anterior to 
1400. The soil of the churchyard is much higher than the 
floor of the church, especially on the north side, partly owing 
to the site having a natural slope to the south ; but the rise 
of the surface at the west entrance, to the height of full twenty 
inches, entirely concealing the sill and lower parts of the door 
jambs, cannot be so explained, and must have taken place 
subsequently to the erection of the building. It has doubt- 
less resulted from that accumulation of matter which, in the 
case of most of our ancient village churches, has raised the 
surface of the churchyards so much above their original level. 
This change can hardly have been produced in any sensible 
degree, in so very small a village as this, by the human 
remains consigned to their last resting-places, even in a 
very long period of years. But it may be accounted for by 
the consideration that, whenever vaults or steined graves are 
made, the excavated earth is spread over the surface of the 
churchyard ; and that fresh turf is continually introduced for 
the purpose of covering new-made graves, or redressing those 
which have decayed. Possibly, too, the debris of the edifice, 
when destroyed or dilapidated, may have augmented the 
accumulation. These, in the course of ages, appear quite 
adequate causes for the change of level now observable, when 
it is borne in mind that popular feeling everywhere forbids 
the removal of the consecrated earth from the precincts of 
the church. Thus, there are perpetual additions and no 
abstractions. 

Whether the Rectory House is of the age I have conjec- 
tured, must be determined by its own evidences: to me, 
these seem to warrant the conclusion I have drawn. It may 
serve, perhaps, to strengthen this conclusion, that, in the 
* Nonarum Inquisitiones' it is stated that the rector of this 
church had then (a.d. 1340) "one messuage, & 7^ acres of 
land, wherewith the church was endowed." The land remains 
the same to this day, and I am disposed to believe in the 
identity of the house. 

William de Medestede, a namesake of one of the royal 



IN THE PARISH OF WEST DEAN. 19 

commissioners, was an attesting juror on that occasion ; 
and might probably be the incumbent, for he is styled 
" clericus," and said to be " de eadem parochia." The rietum 
shows that the parish was then, as it is now, of small popula- 
tion and importance ; for the rector's whole income, including 
the annual value of the above-mentioned land and messuage, 
together with " the customary oflFerings, and the tenth of hay, 
pigeons, gardens, calves, pigs, flax, and other small tithe," 
was valued only at £1 lQs,Sd. ; whilst there was no inhabitant 
w^ho lived by merchandise, nor had any dignitary, or other 
ecclesiastical person (save the Prior of Wilmington), any 
property therein. The ancient dovecote, with a numerous 
tenantry, still remains, but the culture of flax has long since 
disappeared. 

Perhaps I may be allowed to add a few words upon a 
question incapable, it may be, of any very positive solution, 
but yet one of interest and curiosity. 

AssER, bishop of St. David's, the friend and secretary of 
Alfred, mentions, in his book * De iElfredi Rebus gestis,' the 
fact of his having had his first interview about the year 885, 
with King Alfred at Dene,^ which Dallaway (vol. i, p. 174) 
supposes to be East Dean, included in " Silleton" (or Single- 
ton) in Domesday, afterwards held by the Earl of Arundel 
(23 Hen. II) of the king, "in capite," as of the honour of 
Arundel. A Dene also occurs in the Will of Alfred,^ which 

^ ** His temporibus ego quoque a rege advocatus de occiduis et ultimis Britaaniae 
finibus ad Saxoniam adveni : cumque per multa terrarum spatia ilium adire proposueram, 
usque ad regionem dexteralium Saxonum, quae Saxonice Suthseaxum appellatur, ductori- 
bus ejusdem gentis comitantibus perveni ; ibique ilium in villa regia, quae dicitur Dene, 
primitus vidi/' ...... ** dato revertendi pignore statute tempore quarta die ab eo 

equitantes ad patriam remeavimus, sed cum ab eo discesseramus in Wintonia civitate 
febris infesta me arripuit." (Vide Asser, Odon, 1722, p. 47) 

2 Will of King Alfred, ed. Rev. Owen Manning, 4to, Oxon, 1788, p. 17 :— " To my 
eldest son (Etbelward), the land at Eaderingtune, and that at Dene, and at Meone, and 
at Ambresbyry, and at Deone, and Sturemynster, and at Gifle, and at Cruoen, and at 
Whitchurch, and at Axemouth, and at Brancescumbe, and at Columtune, and at Twyfyrd, 
and at Mylenbum, and at Exanmynster, and at Suthewyrth, and at Liwtune, and the 
lands that thereto belong, which are all that I in Weal district have, except Triconshire. 
p. 19. " And to Athehn, my brother's son, the manor at EaJdmgbum, and at Cumtune, 
and at CmndeU, and at Beadingt and at Beadinffhamme, and at Bumham, and at 



20 ANCIENT RECTORY-HOUSE 

Mr. Manning, in his notes, concludes to be either in Hants 
or Wilts, because most of the estates there bequeathed lay 
among the West Saxons, and none of the lands afterwards 
mentioned are farther west than Wiltshire. Manning here 
alludes to the bequests made to the king's younger son ; but 
of the manors left to his nephews iEthelm and Athelwold, 
and to Osferth his cousin, many are in Sussex, and several in 
East Sussex, as Rotherfield, Ditohling, Sutton (in Seaford), 
LuUingminster (Lullington), and Beddingham. In truth, 
little or no regard is paid to counties in the arrangement of 
the bequests. There is therefore but slender ground for Mr. 
Manning's conclusion. We do not, indeed, know that Alfred 
possessed any other manor of this name, beside the one spoken 
of by Asser, and that he tells us was in Sussex, If the king 
had held more than one, it is likely more would have been 
mentioned in the Will ; or, one only being named, that it 
would be so designated as to distinguish which he meant. It 
seems reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the Dene of the 
Will is identical with the Dene in which Asser first saw Alfred, 
and which he describes as the king's " villa regia," in the 
county of Sussex. 

But then Mr. Dallaway's reasons for thinking this to be 
East Dene, in the hundred of Singleton, can scarcely be looked 
upon as conclusive. The language used by Asser, in speaking 
of his journey — " I arrived, through great spaces of country, 
as far as the region of the Saxons on the right hand, which 
in Saxon is called Suthsex, some guides of the same people 
accompanying me," — seems well to describe his long journey 
from the extremity of South Wales ; but he would hardly re- 
quire natives of Sussex for guides to conduct him to a Dene 
only a few miles over the borders of the county, though their 
services would be necessary to bring him to a remote viQage 
at the eastern extremity of the Southdowns. 

Regarding this, therefore, as still an open question, I must 

Thunresfield, and at iEscing. And to Athelwold, my brother's son, the manor at Godel- 
mmg, and at Gyldeford, and at Stening, And to Osferth, my cousin, the manor at 
BeccarUeaf and at Rytherfieldy and at Bicceling, and at Suthttme^ and at LuUingminster^ 
and at Angmeringf and at Felham, and the lands that thereto belong.'^ In the above ex- 
tract the places in Sussex are in Italics. 



IN THE PARISH OF WEST DEAN. 21 

put in a modest plea on the part of our West Dean, for the 
honour of being considered a residence of the most illustrious 
among our Saxon monarchs. It may be premised, that " villa 
regia" means nothing more than " a country village, where 
the kings of England had a royal seat, and held the manor in 
their own demesne." (Jacob in verb.) Beddingham, another 
property belonging to Alfred, left by him to iEthelra, his 
brother Ethelbert's son (and only eight miles from West Dean), 
was so held, in the Confessor's time, by his queen Editha ;' 
and there is nothing incredible in the hypothesis that West 
Dean itself might be in Alfred's time a royal abode. It was 
held of the king " pro manerio,"* under the Confessor ; and we 
have it already in evidence, that a family of rank occupied it 
in the Norman period, and that it was visited by Edward I. 
Besides the ruins of the manor-house before mentioned, which 
show it to have been a large and handsome edifice, there are 
in a field declining to the south, and presenting one of the best 
sites in the village, foundations of great extent and soUdity, 
and the whole surface of the ground exhibits manifest indica- 
tions of large buildings at some remote period, of which the 
tradition is now entirely lost. It was in the immediate vicinity 
of the king's other manors — Sutton, in the adjoining parish of 
Seaford ; and Lullington, separated from it only by the small 
parish of Littlington ; — ^places at the present day stiU more 
inconsiderable even than West Dean. The dovms in this 
neighbourhood bear clear marks of having been frequented 
and cultivated in the earliest periods of our history. A resi- 
dence in them is likely to have been desirable for the king in 
those troubled times, from their being difficult of access to an 
invading enemy, and abounding in strong positions for de- 
fence. The river Cuckmere, which now finds its way with 
difficulty into the sea in this parish, the mouth of its ancient 
harbour being blocked up by a bar of shingle, formed once, 
as is evident from inspection, an estuary, which flowed far in- 
land to Alfriston, and extended up a side valley to the foot of 
the slope upon which the viflage and church of West Dean 
stand. Thus it was formerly accessible both by land and 

3 Domesday, T. 1, f. 21, b. 

^ " Pro manerio;" "from the French Manom*, habitation, or from manendo, abiding, 
because the lord of it does usually reside there." (Jacob.) 



22 ANCIENT RECTORY-HOUSE IN WEST DEAN. 

water. The very name of the town Alfriston, hard by, seems 
to savour of the king as its founder. In the absence of more 
cogent proofs these are sufficient, I think, to render it sup- 

Eosable that this sequestered spot is the Dene once dignified 
y the presence of the great Alfred. 



Subsequent inquiry leads me to conclude that the family 
settled at West Dean was that of the Heringauds ; for I find : 

A.D. 1081-7 . . — (1) Ra^h holds of the Eari, in Dene, viii hides. (Domesday.) 

Temp. H. II ; 1 — (2) Rafyh de Dene (whom I take to be his son or grandson) fonncb 
*• «• >> " Otteham " (in Hailsham), for monks of the order of Premontr^ ; his 

1154toll89.J daughter Ela marries Jordan de SackviUe; and about a. d. 1200 Ra^h 
Heringod (probably Ela's father with the addition of his surname) and Jordan 
de SauktfiU both give land to Grestein. (Tanner, p. 560, and Charter of Grestein.) 

1200 to 1250. — (3) Robert de Dene (son of Ralph and brother of Ela), by his wife 
Sibylla, has Rafyh de lekletham and Robert de Dene; the daughter of the 
former, Sibylla de lekletham (who seems to have been sole hdress), carries 
Icklesham (and it would appear Dene also) by marriage to Nicolas Heringod. 
(Authorities cited in Horsfield.) 

1269 — (4) Their son Ra^h Herinffod obtains a charter of free warren for his 

manor of Icklesham. (Burrell MS. 5679.) 

1296 — (5) J'okn Hermgaud, VOlata de Exetes (m W. D. parish), is taxed 

45*. 7irf. (Unpublished Subs? Roll, awnmunicated by Mr. Blaauw.) This 
must be the man whom Edw. I. visited in 1305— for, 

1302 to 1313 — (6) John Heringaud sits six times in parliament as knight of the shire 
for Sussex. 

1333 — (7) Henry de West D,€ne is knight of the shire. 

1340 — (8) Thomas Heringaud appears as a resident in W. D. in the Nonae 

Return. 

Upon the whole, it seems highly probable that the Heringods 
were all along possessors of both Dene and Icklesham ; and 
that Sibylla the second married a cousin. 



23 



LEASE OF THE FREE CHAPEL OF MIDHURST, 

IN 1514. 

COMMUNICATED BT 

SIB HENBY ELLIS, K.H., F.S.A., &c. 8tc. 

FROM MS. COTTON, CLAUD. B. VI, F. 141. 



'• This Indenture made betwene S' Thomas Docwra, Prior of 
Hospitall of Saint John Jerusalem m England, and his bredren 
Knightes of the same hospitall uppon that one partie, and 
Bx)bt. Eybrisshe, of Midhurst, in the countie of Sussex, 
yoman, uppon that othre partie, witnessith that the said prior 
and his bredren, by ther hole assent and auctorite of ther 
Chapitor have graunted and letten to ferme to the said 
Robert Eybrisshe ther free chapell of Midhurst, in the countie 
aforesaid, with the oblacions of the same, a garden platt lying 
next to the same chapell, two medowes, ten crofts and feldes, 
a wilde hethland, with a quyte rent of viij^. by yere, for tythes 
going out of ij. milles at Mydhurst aforesaid, which garden 
plat, ij. medowes, x. crofts and feldes, wilde hethland and 
quite rent are belonging to the seid fre chapell aforesaid, 
woodes and under woodes except, and to the said prior and his 
successors already reserved : To have and to hold the forsaid 
fre chapell, oblacions, garden plat, ij. meadowes, x. croftes 
and feldes, wilde hethland, and quite rent, to the forsaid 
Robert and to his assignes fro the fest of Seint Mighell 
tharchangell last past before the date herof unto thend and 
terme of xlj. yeres than next folowing, and ftdly to be ended. 
Yelding and paying therfor yerely, in the tresourye hous of 
Saint Johns besides London to the forsaid prior and his suc- 
cessors xxxiiJ5. mjd, sterling, at the festes of the Annunciacion 
of our Lady and of Seint Mighell tharchangell, by even por- 
tions ; and also bering and paying all maner of quite rentes, 
quinzyms and subsides going out of the said fre chapell, 



24 FREE CHAPEL OF MIDHURST. 

garden plat, medowes, croftes and feldes, and wilde hethland, 
during the seid terme ; also, the said Robert and his assignes 
shall here the costes of all maner of reparacions of the said 
fre chapell and paling of the same, and shall sufficiently close, 
hedge, and fence the said garden plat, meadowes, croftes and 
feldes during the said tenne ; and shal have, as ofte as nede 
shall require, doing no waste, tymbor, palebote, and hedge- 
bote out of the said grounde for the reparacons aforesaid, 
during the said terme. Also, the seid Robert and his assignes 
shall fynde one honest preste to say masse in the seid free 
chapell, at iiij. festes every y ere, during the seid terme, that is 
to say ; in the fest of Seint Thomas of Canturbery, in Criste- 
masse weke, in the fest of the Nativite of seint John Baptist, 
in the fest of the Translacion of seint Thomas of Canterbery, 
and in the fest of the DecoUacion of seint John Baptist. 
Furthermore, the forsaid Robert confesseth, by thies presentes, 
that he hath in keping certen ornaments, to be occupied in 
the seid fre chapell, the parcelles wherof be writen particu- 
larly uppon the bak of this endenture. All whiche parcelles the 
said Robert and his assignes shall deUver to the seid prior and 
his successors at thende of the seid terme, for the use of the 
said fre chapell. And if it happen the forsaid yerely rent and 
ferme of xxxiij"- iiij'*- sterling to be behynde and not payed, 
in part or in the hole, after any terme of pajrment aforsaid, by 
the space of xl. daies, than it shalbe liefull to the said prior, 
and to his successors, to reentre into the forsaid free chapell, 
garden plat, croftes, and feldes, with thappurtenances afore 
specified ; and all the same to enjoy e, as in th^r first astate, 
this present lease and endenture in any wisse notwithstand- 
ing. And to all and singler paymentes and covenauntes afore 
specified in this endenture, which the said Robert Eybrisshe 
and his assignes aght to performe and kepe wele and tfuely to 
be performed and kept, the said Robert Eybrisshe byndeth 
him, his heires and executors, to the said prior, and to his 
successors, in ten markes sterling, by thies presentes. 

" In witnes wherof to that one part of theis endentures 
remanyng with the said Robert Eybrisshe, the said prior and 
his bredren hath putt their common seall, and to that other 
part of the same endentures remanyng with the said prior, the 
said Robert Eybrisshe hath putt his seall. Yeven in our 



FREE CHAPEL OF MIDHURST. 25 

chapitor holden in our house of Saint John's of Clarkenwell, 
besides London, the xj*^ day of January, in the yere of our 
Lord God Mcccccxiiij, the vi. yere of the reigne of Kyng Henry 
the viij**"- 

" In capella de Midhurst. First, a Utle chalesse, with the 
paten of silver, and gilt. Item, a fair table of Saynt Thomas 
of Canterbery, of alabaster. Item, a vestment of white silk, 
the grounde therof blak, the orfrayes grene and blak silk, with 
Albe, Amys, stole and fanon. Item, two stayned clothes of 
white for the alter, of dyvers ymages. Item, three alter clothes, 
two of dyaper and one playne. Item, a corporas caas of blak 
damask, with the clothe. Item, a fair superaltare of marbil. 
Item, a htle mas-booke, in secimdo foUo * cibauit ex adipe,' 
Item, an other mas-booke, in secundo folio * et angelus.* Item, 
two cruettes of tynne." 



26 



ORDERS OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF JAMES I, 

TO THE SHERIFF AND JUSTICES OF SUSSEX, 

ON THB TOO GREAT CHEAPNESS OF CORN IN 1619, AND ITS DEARTH IN 1621. 
COPIED PROM BURRBLL MSB. 5702, ff. 262, 263. 

BY W. H. B. 



" Aftee out very harty commendations, whereas the king- 
dom hath of late years, by the special blessing and favour of 
God, abounded with such plenty and store of com, as that the 
price thereof is become so small and low, as tend greatly to 
the ympoverishing as well of the farmers as the owners 
of such land as consisteth of tillage and grain, in respect 
whereof complaints have been made unto us from divers 
parts of the realm, that many farmers have been forced, these 
two last precedent years, through the extraordinary cheapnes 
of com, to leave their farms, and the owners to loose such 
benefit and profitts, as otherwise was to accme unto them from 
the same ; upon consideration whereof, forasmuch as it hath 
been always the care of the state to provide, as well to keep 
the price of com in times of plenty at such reasonable rates 
as may afford incouragement and lyveliehood to the farmers 
and husbandmen, as to moderate the rates therof in times 
of scarcity for the relief of the poorer sort — His Majesty, in 
his high wisdom, finding it requisite that some expedient be 
thought of for remedy herein, hath commanded us to require 
you to confer and advise of some fitt place within that county, 
where a magazine may best be provided for the keeping and 
stoaring of some reasonable quantity of com, according to the 
use and practise of all poUitick and well ordered states, at such 
rates and prices as may best serve, as well for the comfort 
and encouragement of the farmer now in the time of plenty, as 
for the relief of the country upon all occasions of scarcity ; 



1 



ORDERS OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF JAMES 1. 27 

the charge and stock wherof, as it must arise from the 
country by such ways and means as may best suit with 
conveniency, and as in your knowledge and experience shall 
be thought meet, so will the benefit be redoubled, to the 
general good of the same upon all occasions that may fall 
out ; in regard wherof we doubt not of your best care and dilli- 
gence, and require you to acquaint the judges, at the next 
assizes, with your proceedings herein, that such farther order 
may be taken as shall be meet ; and so we bid you hartely 
farewell. 

Whitehall, this 26th of January, 1619. 

" You shall understand that we have made the like addresses 
to all other counties of the realm. 

Your very loving friends, 

G. Cant.^ Fr. Verulam, Canc.^ E. Worcester.^ 

La. Winton.* T. Arundell.*^ G. Carew. 

J. Digbie. T. Edmondes. Robert Naunton. 

Fulke Greville. Jul. Caesar. Lionell Cranfield. 

To our very loving friends, the High Sheriff and 
Justices of Peace of the county of Sussex." 

[Sir John Howland was the sheriff of Sussex in 1619.] 

Foho 263. — " After our harty commendations, the unseason- 
ableness of the last summer, together with the sudden rising of 
the price of com, and the scarcity which is found in many 
counties of the realm, hath made his Majesty to take into hi 
princely consideration what course may best be taken for pro- 
vision in that kind to be taken for the benefit and reUef of his 
subjects, and to that purpose, his majesty's pleasure is, and 
we do hereby, in his majesty's name, wiU and require you (ac- 
cording to our like directions in this behalf to some other 
counties), that taking a perfect survey and information of the 

^ George Abbot, Archbishop. 

^ Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, Chancellor. 

^ Edward Somerset, Earl of Worcester. 

* Lancelot Andrews, Bishop of Winchester. 

5 Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. 



28 ORDERS OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF JAMES I. 

stores in that coimty, you return certificate unto us with all 
expedition what provisions and stores of com, as well old as 
that of the last year's growth, are now in the country ; what 
quantity may well be spared out of the same, for furnishing of 
other parts of the kingdom, as need shall require, and what 
hopes and expectation you have of the next harvest ; and so 
we bid you hartely farewell. 

From Whitehall, the 4^th of March, 1621. 

Your loving friends, 

G. Cant. Jo. Lincoke, C. S.« L. Cranfield. 

Lenox.^ Arrundel and Surrey. G. Carew. 

J. Digbie. H. Mandevill. T. Edmonds. 

Geo. Calvert. C. Edmonds." 

[Richard- Michelbome was the sheriff of Sussex, 1620-21.] 

* John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, the Lord Keeper (Custos Sigilli). 
7 LodoTick, Duke of Lennox, afterwards Duke of Richmond. 




THE CASTLE OF BELLE NC OMBRE-, FROM A SKETCH TAXEl^ IN 1832. 




^INTERIOR.) 



T^cLwrtby 2£AJio-wer. 



ON THE CASTLE OF BELLENCOMBRE, 

THE ORIGINAL SEAT OP THE FAMILY OF DB WARBNNB, IN NOBJf ANDT. 

BY MR. M. A. LOWER. 
(read at abundbl, august 9, 1849.) 




Ruins of Bellencorabre, 1849. 



The interest in the early history of the De Warenne family, 
excited by the discovery o( the remains of William de Warenne 
and Gundrada, at Lewes Priory, in 1845, led me, during a 
recent brief stay in Normandy, to visit the principal seat of 
that ancient race — ^the Castle of Bellencombre. 

For this purpose I left La Chapelle, the chateau of M* de 
Breaute, member of the Institute of France, in company with 
M. TAbbe Cochet, of Dieppe, our foreign associate, taking 
in our way the towns of Longueville and S. Victor, the former 
celebrated for its castle and abbey, built irrthe eleventh century 
by the Gifiards, Earls of Buckingham, and the latter for its 
monastery, founded by William the Conqueror. 



30 CASTLE OF BELLENCOMBRE. 

At the distance of a league and a half from S. Victor, at a 
place Uttle known to the antiquary and rarely visited by the 
tourist, stand the remains of the habitation of the once potent 
De Warennes. A picturesque village of one broad street, 
consisting of irregular antique houses, chiefly constructed with 
wood, and flanking the humble mairiey constitutes the bourg of 
Bellencombre, which occupies a very agreeable and picturesque 
situation on the western side of the river Varenne. This river, 
which rises in, and gives name to, the neighbouring commune 
of Omonville-sur-Varenne, is now more generally known as 
the riviere d'Arques, because it passes the castle and town of 
Arques on its way to join the Bethune, which debouches a few 
miles northward at the haven of Dieppe. The town itself, in 
early times, bore the same name as the river, and from it the 
De Warennes took their surname. It was not until the grace- 
ful mound upon which the castle stands had been cast up, that 
the spot assumed another name, and was called Bellencombre, 
which, as Mr. Stapleton observes, may be Kterally translated 
Bellus Cumulus, " the fair mound or pile."^ At the present 
day, Bellencombre is the chef-Ueu of a canton in the arrondisse- 
ment of Dieppe, containing a population of less than 1000 
inhabitants. 

The castle of Bellencombre recently belonged to M. Godard 
de Belbeuf, of the Chateau de Belbeuf, near Rouen, and pre- 
viously to the Duchess de Pontaine-Martel, near Bulbec, 
chatelaine de Cleres, who married the Duke de Bethune- 
Charrost. It is now in the hands of a small proprietor named 
M. Dillard. 

It occupies the artificial mound alluded to, and is appa- 
rently about 100 feet above the river Varenne. A few massive 
walls of stone and brick, once a portion of the keep or donjon, 
constitute the whole of the existing remains. Nor will this 
excite surprise, when I state that the property was purchased 
by the present possessor for the sum of 10,000 francs, in the 
year 1835, for the express purpose of selling the materials; 
and so little ashamed is the old man of his sordid spoliation, 
that he told us, with an air of the utmost satisfaction, that he 
had, within the last ten years sold 18,000 feet of freestone, 

* Vide Archaeological Joumali vol. iii, p. 6. 



CASTLE OF BELLENCOMBRE. .31 

procured by the demolition of the two entrance towers only. 
The height of these towers was about 50 feet. Unless some 
friendly influence should arrest the progress of destruction, in 
a few years more it will have to be said of Bellencombre — 

« Etiam perienint Ruinae !" 

In the middle of the donjon, according to M. Dillard's state- 
ment, stood a Chapel^ no remains of which are now visible. 
The area, inclosed by the vallum and fosse, measures between 
two and three acres, and includes the parish church of St. 
Peter. Within the memory of man, a long flight of steps, 
extended from the warder's lodge to the keep ; but this also 
has disappeared. 

The accompanying etchings have been made from drawings 
taken on the spot in 1832, before the building was delivered 
over to the spoliating cupidity of M. Dillard. At that date it 
consisted chiefly of two lofty round towers, with machicolations; 
but the battlements had disappeared. Between the towers 
were a principal and a side gateway ; and over these were two 
longitudinal openings, by means of which the drawbridge was 
raised. Internally the towers were square ; but the inner walls 
of the left hand tower had been removed previously to 1832. 

I need hardly state, that the present owner of Bellencombre 
Castle had never heard the name of a De Warenne ! 

Very Uttle appears to be known of the history of the descent 
of this castle. That it was the caput baronia of the Earls of 
Warenne is beyond question, although the Norman antiquaries 
and historians scarcely recognise the fact. Indeed, I was 
assured, by a very erudite archaeologist, that the earUest record 
respecting it to be met with in Normandy was dated no earUer 
than the time of John sans Terre?^ It is not, therefore, sur- 
prising that Dr. Watson, the EngUsh historian of the family, 
gives only two or three incidental notices of Bellencombre. It 
appears from Dugdale, that WiUiam de Warenne, the second 
earl, with Isabel, alias EUzabeth, his wife, gave to the church of 
All Saints, at Belencumbre, and the infirm brethren there 
serving Grod, all his arable lands at S. Martin's, probably part 

3 M. Leprevost, however, in his notes to the * Roman de Rou,' speaking of the De 
Warennes, says : " lis poss^daient dans notre province, entre autres domaines, la terre et le 
Ch&teau de Bellencombre." (Roman de Rou, p. 241.) 



32 CASTLE OF BELLENCOMBRE. 

of the ancient paternal estate of the family. The brethren thus 
referred to were the constituents of a hospital of lepers, founded 
here in early times. Isabel, Countess de Warenne,^ likewise, 
in the year 1135, gave to these lepers the sum of one hundred 
shiUings, arising out of the borough of Lewes.* 

WiSiam, fourth Earl of Warenne, by accord between King 
Stephen and Henry Duke of Normandy, resigned certain rights, 
on condition that Regmald de Warenne (son of William the 
second Earl) should, if he thought fit, have the custody of the 
castles of Bellencombre and Mortimer, giving hostages to the 
duke for the same, until Henry should become king of 
England.^ 

On the separation of England and Normandy, the connexion 
of the De Warennes with Bellencombre ceased. The castle, 
however, remained as a fortress till a much later date. In the 
parish church (which exhibits very evident traces of the style 
known among us as that pertaining to the Norman period, and 
which was probably erected by one of the early earls) is an in- 
cised slab, with an inscription which shows that the governor- 
ship of the castle was an office existing so lately as the year 
1519. It is to the foUovring effect : 

" Beneath lie the viscera and intestines of the latefnoble 
and puissant Lord, Monsieur James de Moy, in his 
lifetime Chevalier, Baron of Moy, and hereditary 
Castellan of this land, lordship, and castelry of 
Bellencombre. His heart and body are buried in 
the collegiate church of Moy. He died on Sunday, 
the 12th of February, in the year of grace 1519."^ 



» In the MS. book of deeds relating to Lewes Priory (Vespas. F. rv, in Br. Mus.) the 
name of William de Bellencombre twice occurs, as a witness to confirmatory charters of 
Comitess Isabella, together with Reginald de Warenne, William his son, Oddo priest of 
Roger de Warenne, &c. (f. 31, 35.) 

* Dugd. Mon. Watson's Memoirs of the Earls of W. 
« Chr. Nor. 993. Holinshed's Chron. Watson. 

• "Cg titmim tcp0«ant leg bfecerea ct mtestinesj tit Un xuAlt tt pmaxti <Setgnrar 
JHonsimr Jfocques tit Moh ^ ^^ iiMvsi Cf^eliaUet iSatnn tin tiid lim tit Mou> ^ 
CfyatfrteUattn !yereJ»ital tit ttstt ttttt mam tt d^acsteUenfit tit IStUmamint* Comt zt 
twps tdtqttel est infyxmt m Vtsfiat CoUegtol tiu tiitt Mm tit Mo^ : H trespassa le ti^mttt 
xij. j0tn: lie JWrnrier, Tan lie grate mil cinq an» tiix nettf." 



CASTLE OF BELLENCOMBRE. 33 

Under the inscription are the arms of Moy : Gules, fretty 
or, of 6 pieces — ^a coat which, according to D'Eschavannes' 
* Armorial Universel,' was borne by. a fmiily of this name in 
Picardy. 

At a still later period the castle must have been in a habit- 
able state, as pieces of marble moulding, not older than the 
17th century, are to be found among the rubbish. About six 
years since an oblong slab, of black marble, inscribed with the 
following lines, was found in the garden. It is certainly of the 
same period. 

" MON . HONNEUR . ET . MA . VIE 

SONT , DEVX . LOTS . DE . MON . BIEN , 

QVAND . l'uNE . m'eST . RAVIE . 

l' AUTRE . NE . m'eST . PLUS , RIEN.'* 

I inquired of M. Dillard if any other articles had been found, 
and he stated that about two years since his wife had picked 
up a silver ring and an antique spur, both of which she had 
sold. Many tUes of medievd date had also been found. The 
greater part of them were taken from a corridor in the castle, 
and are now laid down in the kitchen of the old man's cottage. 

I was fortunate enough to procure one relic of extremely 
interesting character, for which this modem Baron of Bellen- 
combre demanded the moderate sum of two francs, and the 
sale of which seemed to him a very satisfactory transaction. 
It is a bronze wyvern — ^in the opinion of M. T Abbe Cochet, of 
the 13th centiuy. The wjrvem or two-legged dragon was the 
crest or rather badge of the De Warenne family; and the 
article in question bears a striking general resemblance to 
some drawings of it made in the time of Henry VII, and en- 
graved at page 13, vol. i, of Watson. The only material 
difference between them is, that the latter have expanded 
checquy wings, while in \sfj bronze figure the wings are close, 
and very slightly reheved from the back. I may mention that 
Alice, Countess of Warenne, and consort of John, the seventh 
earl, was buried in Lewes Priory, in 1290, before the high 
altar, under a marble tomb, whereon was sculptured a wyvern, 
or heraldric dragon, with a branch in its mouth. The coin- 
cidence may be accidental, but it is certainly highly curious, 
and deserving of further consideration. 

III. 3 



34 



CASTLE OF BELLENCOMBRE. 



These few foots, however meagre they may appear, are all 
that I was enabled to glean regarding this once-important and 
interesting spot. I trust, however, that their relation to Sussex 
history, and their connection with a distinguished race, repre- 
sented at this time by the noble proprietor of Arundel, will 
render them acceptable to the members of a Society which 
may truly be said to have been called into existence by the 
discovery of the bones of WilUam de Warenne and Gundrada. 




Church of Bellencombre. 



LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

BISHOP OF CHICHESTER (1222-24), AND CHANCELLOR TO KING HENRY UU 

PROM THE TOWER MAS. 

BY W, H. BLAAUW, ESQ. 

(read at meetings in 1848 and 1849.) 



The invaluable stores of our national Records, the soundest 
materials of English history, have been often augmented in old 
times by the exercise of royal power in seizing the private 
papers of some fallen statesman, or some conspicuous oflFender ; 
and though the examination of such documents may now prove 
that they might have been safely left in the owner's possession, 
yet we may, in these later times, gladly accept their aid in illus- 
tration of the social state and manners of a remote period. It 
is probably owing to some such seizure that the following, 
hitherto unpublished, letters are now found among the MSS. of 
the Tower of London. 

Although Ralph de Nevill, the Bishop of Chichester, to whom 
they are addressed, was a man of great eminence both in church 
and state, yet no political secrets are revealed and no treason 
whispered in them ; but as they include perhaps the earUest 
familiar details extant relating to the management of a landed 
estate, we may be able to glean from them some interesting 
particulars of the agriculture and condition of Sussex in the 
thirteenth century. 

Matthew Paris, who must have been personally acquainted 
vsith Ralph de NeviU, sketches his character in glowing colours, 
as " an unshaken column of truth, who dispensed to every one, 
especially to the poor, his rights justly and without delay ;" 
but, on the other hand, he has been denounced by the noble 
biographer of the Chancellors as an intriguer and an extortioner. 
Although the connection of Ralph with the great family of Nova 



36 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

Villa or Nevill is not traced by Dugdale in his Baronage, nor 
by Mr. Rowland in his folio History of the NeviUs, yet there 
can be no doubt of it : he appears to have been bom at Raby, 
CO. Durham, and Hugh, the head of the family, addressed many 
letters to him as to a kinsman, which are still extant among 
these MSS. ; and as Hugh steadily adhered to King John 
during his troubles, it was probably by his influence, as 
well as by his own study of the law, that Ralph advanced. 
Many preferments were heaped upon him in those days of 
pluralities, including Hambleden and Ludgershall, co. Bucks, 
and Ingham, co. Lincoln, all within the diocese of Lincoln, as 
well as Edmundthorpe, afterwards referred to, and Stratton ; 
and in April, 1214, he became Dean of Lichfield. 

The gratitude of Ralph de Nevill towards his early patron. 
King John, was shown by his afterwards building a chapel out- 
side Chichester, and estabUshiog two chaplains to pray there 
for the soul of that king. Early in the reign of Henry III, about 
1219, he was employed in the office of the Close Rolls, in con- 
junction with the lang's treasurer, and also appears to have 
exercised much authority in the Chancery, either as a principal 
clerk, or an appoioted deputy to Richard de Marisco, bishop of 
Durham, who had been chancellor from 1212, and in this 
capacity he acted some years. There was a prevalent feeling 
at the time that judges should be irremoveable, in order to 
support their independence, and it was not till 1222 that 
Marisco, at length yielding to insults and importunities, re- 
signed his office. His letter of reproof to Ralph de NeviU, 
who had written to him without giving him the title of Chan- 
cellor, by which, as he observes, even the pope and cardinals 
had addressed him, is among these MSS. ; but having been 
pubUshed by Lord Campbell (vol. i, p. 128), is not here re- 
peated. Ralph de Nevill having at length received the great 
seal, as chancellor, in 1222, he is said by some to have advised 
the king to annul Magna Charta, and to have raised money by 
extortion. He had held the dignity of Dean of Lichfield, as 
we have seen, and he was also Chancellor of Chichester before 
he became bishop of that diocese, Nov. 1222, his consecration 
taking place at Easter, 1224, for the feast on which occasion 
Henry HI gave him four casks of Gascon wiae and twelve 
bucks. He appears to have attended the king in 1223, in the 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 37 

wars on the Welsh borders, and to have fled with him, stripped 
of everything, after being there defeated. 

A hfe tenure of his office, as chancellor, was secured to him 
by the king's grant, on Feb. 11, 1227; and in May, 1234, 
the Chancery of Ireland was also intrusted to him, on similar 
terms. His character stood so high, that on the death of 
Archbishop Wetherstead, Aug. 3, 1231, Ralph de Nevillwas 
elected his successor by the monks of Canterbury, although his 
confirmation was refiised by the Pope, on account of his 
active and uncompromising spirit, according to Matthew Paris. 
He remained therefore Bishop of Chichester, but in 1237 was 
unexpectedly elected Bishop of Winchester, much to the dis- 
pleasure of the king, who wanted the see for a relation of his 
own, and called all those who had voted for Nevill "fools." 
Ralph de Nevill of his own accord declined this honour, but 
he refused to resign his civil office on the demand of the court, 
in this imitating his predecessor, who had so long tried his own 
patience by keeping him out of power. When the king there- 
fore in his anger compelled him, in 1238, reluctantly to give up 
the great seal, at Winchester, and the duties of his office, and 
banished him from court, he retained in his retirement both the 
title and the emoluments of chancellor. It was apparently on 
this occasion that the collection of the following letters fell 
into the king's hands, as they appear to be all anterior to these 
circumstances. He was replaced in power in 1242, by his 
friend Hubert de Burgh, and continued chancellor till death 
lawfully terminated his long tenure of dignity, on Feb. 1, 1244, 
in his noble palace, on the spot now occupied by Lincoln's 
Inn. Matthew Paris, his contemporary, says he was " con- 
spicuously liberal to his church," and the beautiful spire of his 
cathedral is said to have been begun by him. 

Most of the letters being written in a plain, business-like 
manner, there wiU be no risk of losing any beauties of diction by 
translating them from Latin to English, introducing a few speci- 
mens of the Latin style, and quoting the origiual words also 
where any doubtful or remarkable phrases occur Ukely to interest 
the curious reader. It may be observed that the numbers pre- 
fixed merely indicate their casual arrangement at the Tower, 
but have no reference at all to their date, very few indeed fur- 
nishing evidence of the exact time when they were written. 



38 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

There are a few letters among the collection, three, indeed, 
written by Ralph de Nevill himself, which refer to a period 
before he had attained to his highest dignities ; the following 
urgent request for venison, however, proves him to have been 
then a rising man, though directed to him only as " Master" 
(magistro). It must have been written therefore before 1214, 
when he became Dean of Lichfield ; but he may have been 
ab-eady acting as the unwelcome deputy of the chancellor. 
T. de Hoyland was probably a Yorkshireman ; but how he was 
connected with Lincoln does not appear. 

383. " lb his dearest companiony Ralph de Nevill, Master^ 
Thomas deHoiland, greeting, and the affection of sincere love. — 
It is reported to me, that you, being estabUshed in great power, 
and fuUy obtaining the favour of your Lord (Domini vestri 
gratiam plene obtinentes), are able easily, out of the abundance 
of venison, to satisfy your friend in need of such a thing ; we 
scholars indeed, dwelling at Lincoln (nos quidem scolares 
Lincolniam moram facientes), neither find venison meats to be 
sold (nee camesvenatorias emendas nee largitorem comperimus), 
nor do we find any one to give it us ; I supplicate therefore 
earnestly your Uberality , on which I fuUy rely, by my friend, the 
bearer of this, that as it may not be troublesome to you to 
succour me with as much of this kind as you please, so it 
would be glorious to me, if I should be able by your bounty to 
set before my companions dweUing with me (commorantibus 
mecum sociis), among other things to be set on the table, such 
as are so rare among us ; and if perchance you should not be 
able to satisfy my petition at present, which heaven forbid, 
(quod absit) arrange if you please so that within a certain 
period to be notified to my messenger, I may have one beast 
(unam habeam bestiam), from some one of our friends. 
EareweU." 

Several letters address Ralph de Nevill as Dean of Lich- 
field, and belong therefore to the period between 1214 and 
1222. It is evident that he then transacted much of the 
chancery business. Among these, one letter (No. 639), from 
Hubert de Burgh the justiciary, consults him as to a treaty 
with the papal legate ; another (No. 644), from Peter, bishop 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 39 

of Winchester, is about legal proceedings of the sheriff of 
Devonshire ; another (No. 387), about a writ of attainder, is 
written by Hugh de Nevill, as ** to his dearest friend and 
kinsman'* (consanguineo suo). 

The three famiUar letters, written at this time by Ralph de 
Nevill himself to his man of business, display him actively em- 
ployed in procuring a horse promised him, borrowing money 
because he was out of cash, providing reluctantly for the services 
of his parish church of Thorp, and laying in a store of dried 
fish, wax-candles, and a cloak. That he farmed attentively now, 
as afterwards when bishop, seems indicated by his wanting iron 
and steel for his ploughs, and his looking forward to the grind- 
ing his own com. GeoflSy le Sauvage, probably the dean's 
correspondent and agent at Thorp, became a justiciary in 1222, 
marriedMatilda, daughter of Hugh leDespenser, and diedl230. 
(Foss's Judges, ii, p. 464.) From the mention of the fair of 
St. Edmund, it is clear that, though there are numerous parishes 
named Thorpe in various counties, the dean's rectory was Ed- 
mundthorpe,^ otherwise called Meringthorp, or Edmerethorp, 
on the eastern border of Leicestershire, in the gift of the crown. 

384. " Ralph de Nevill, Dean of Lichefield, to his beloved 
and faithful Geoffiy Salvage, greeting. — Know that Henry de 
Ver has promised me a palfrey, which he will cause to be bought 
at the fair of St. Edmund (in nundinis S. Edmundi), and I 
order you therefore to search out his arrival at the fair with 
every sort of diUgence, with whom if you shall be able to find 
him, agree about this matter efficiently, and receive the palfrey, 
and transmit it to me, taking care that I may have my monies 
at the appointed periods, advancing my other matters of busi- 
ness which I have enjoined you and committed to you, that I 
may be grateful to you. . Farewell." 

385.^ " Ralph de Nevilly Bean of Lichefield, to the faithful 
Geofl5y Salvage, greeting. — Returning you thanks for your 

^ In Nichors Ldcestershire, this name is erroneously conjectured to have arisen from 
the grant made, in 1266, to Edmund Earl of Lancaster. 

3 385. " Rad: Nevill Decanus de Lichefeld, fideli G. Salvage, salutem. Grates vobis 
referendo de diligenda vestra apposita circa expeditionem negociorum meorum, vobis 
significo quod, quia non sum valde nummosus, scripsi celerio et sacriste S«* Edmundi 



40 LETTEES TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

diligence applied in the dispatch of my business, I signify to 
you that, because I am not very full of cash, I have written to 
the cellarer and to the sacristan of St. Edmund, that one of them 
should accommodate me with 40*., to be delivered to you for 
the dispatching of those matters of my business which do not 
admit of delay, and do you receive that money, if possible, from 
one of these, and buy pigs therewith ; and since I dare not con- 
tradict your commands, I send you a writ of " Pone," for the 
use of your kinsman ; besides which my chaplain of Thorp, 
who is at Thorp, has requested me to grant to my parishioners, 
for the use of my church of Thorp, which is not a fittle in need 
of them, and I am willing that you should deUver them to him. 
He has also informed me, that you, on my behalf, have granted 
to him alterage to the value of three marcs, and two marcs a 
year to be received at the time of grinding my wheat, and 
since that agreement is a fair one, because it cannot be done 
otherwise, I am content that it should be so done, and that you 
hold to that agreement with him. Farewell." 

There appear to be some clerical errors and omissions in the 
original Latin of the above letter, which leaves in doubt what 
his Thorp parishioners had asked for. It seems clear, how- 
ever, that he had no ready money, and therefore begrudged 
appointing ** alterage," that is to say, provision for the support 
of divine service, arising from oflFerings at the altar or other- 
wise, and only submits to it as a bad bargain. There was then 
a vicar or curate in common to the two adjoining rectories of 
Edmundthorpe and Wymondham, and with him this unwilling 
agreement was apparently made. The cool promise of a king's 
writ to serve his friend's kinsman is worth noting. The writ 
of " Pone" authorised the removal of a cause depending in an 
inferior to a higher court. 

quod alter illorum accommodet mihi xl solidos vobis tradendos negocia mea expedienda 
que diladonem non capiunt, et yos, si fieri potest, denarios illos de altero illorum recipiatis, 
et porcos inde ematis, et quoniam non sum ausus contradicere mandatis vestris mitto 
vobis literam de pone ad opus cognati vestri ; preterea rogavit me capellanus mens de 
Thorp, qui est apud Thorp, concederem parochianis meis ad opus ecclesie mee de Thorp, 
que non modice inde indiget, et volo quod eas d liberetis, preterea mandavit mihi quod 
Yos ex parte mea concessistis ei Alteragium pro tribus marcis, et duos marcas per annum, 
recipiendos tempore trituradonis bladi mei, et licet couYendo ista honesta sit ex quo aliter 
fieri non potest, placet mihi quod ita fiat, et yos conYendonem istam ei teneatis. Valete.'' 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 41 

386. This letter marks his anxiety to secure a sufficient 
stock of vmiter food, often a subject of care and difficulty in 
old times. The dean, wrapped up in his " grey cloak," might 
superintend the putting iron and steel to his ploughs. The 
price of wheat in 1237, according to Fleetwood's Chr, Prec., 
was Ss. \d. a quarter. 

" Ralph de NeviU^ Dean of Lichefieldy to his faithful Geoffiy 
Salvage, greeting. — ^That you have sold my wheat from Thorp 
for 22 marcs (£14 13*. 4rf.), as you have informed me, because 
it could not be sold for a higher price, I am content that it should 
be so sold. About your purchases also, concerning which you 
wished to inform me, I commend your prudence, requesting 
that you so manage my aflGairs, that I may thank you ; know 
that I have spoken with Sir Richard Duket, that he shall let me 
have 5000 herrings and 200 wax candles, and a grey cloak, and 
iron and steel for my ploughs ; and therefore I order you, that, 
as soon as you can, you go to him, and agree with him about 
all these things. Be mindful of the herring which the prior of 
Nuwic gave me, namely, 5000, in order to receive which it 
behoves you to be at Nuwic either the third day before the 
feast of St. Martin, or the third day after the feast of St. 
Martin ; about the other herring which you know of, I leave 
the whole to your discretion. Farewell. I have quite lost 
the letters of Abraham de Cruezford, of the tenor of which I 
am entirely ignorant. Farewell."^ 

3 386. '< R. de Nevill, Decanus LichefeldeiisiB fideli suo G. Salvage, salutem. Quod 
bladum meum de Thorp Tendidistis, pro xxU mards sicut mihi mandastis ex quo pro 
majori predo vendi non potuit, placet mihi quod ita vendatyr. de perquisitis eciam vestris 
de quibus me certificari voluistis prudentiam vestram commendo, rogans quatinus agendis 
meis intendatis, quod grates Tobis sdam ; sdatis quod locutus sum cum Domino Ricardo 
Duket, quod fadet mihi habere quinque millia allecis, et cc cere et unam penulam debisis et 
de ferro et ascero ad carrucas meas, et ideo vobis mando quod quam cito poteritis ad eum 
accedatis, et de hiis omnibus eum conveniatis. mementote de allece quern Prior Nuwicensis 
mihi dedit, scilicet quinque millia, ad quem redpiendum oportet quod sitis apud Nuwic vel 
tertio die ante festum S*^ Martini vel terda die post festum Sl^ Martin ; de alio allece 
quod sdtis totum relinquo discretion! vestre. valete. literas Abrahe de Cruezford deperdidi, 
quarum tenorem penitus ignoro. Valete.'' 

Bisis is the latinized form of the French word Bisse, biche, a deer, and the phrase has 
been translated " deerskin,'' but it probably here means " grey," from bis, Pr. bisus, bisius. 

This Priory of Black Canons of St. Augustine was at Newark, near Guildford, in Surrey ; 
the gift of herrings was perhaps a return for some favour. 



42 LETTERS TO EALPH DE NEYILL, 

The letter No. 662, though the manuscript is imperfect, 
must have been written by Hugh de Nevill in 1222, when 
Ralph de Nevill was just elected Bishop of Chichester, it being 
thus addressed : — 

" To his kinsmariy RaJph^ by the grace of God elect of Chi- 

Chester y Hugh. . .greeting, with sincere love. — since you are 

my chief refoge to you as to my kinsman I send, entreating 

earnestly" (He then excuses himself from attending to 

a smnmons in person, on account of his bodily weakness, and 
complaining of the great expense to which he is put on being 
called upon to provide knights for his fiefs, declares he cannot 
afford it at present, " without great burden, since I am not in 
cash, as I think you well know (sine magno gravamine cum 
non sim nmnmosus sicut bene nostis ut credo)." 

There are two other Nevills who correspond with the bishop. 
N. de Nevill was probably Nicholas, a brother of Robert, the 
justiciary, who died 1219. His letters (913, 914, 915) report 
the kiDg's movements at Jersey and elsewhere abroad. G. de 
Nevill, chamberlain, salutes Ralph as a relation (consanguineo) 
308, 368, 749, and he may have been the Geoffiy de Nevill 
who was a justiciary in 1270, brother of Robert of Raby. 
(Foss's Judges, ii, p. 420.) 

The recommendation of an army surgeon by a chief justice 
to the bishop is a curious example of the secular business he 
was often engaged in. As Martin de Pateshull was chief justice 
of the Common Pleas from 1216 to 1230, the letter must have 
been written between 1222 and 1230. 

304. " To the Reverend Father in Christ Balphy by the 
grace of God Bishop of Chichester, his M.de PateshuU, greeting 
and due reverence. — Since, in the siege of castles, physicians 
are necessary, and especially they who know how to cure 
wounds (in obsidione castrorum necessarii sunt medici et 
maxime vulnera curare scientes), there comes to the army of 
our lord the king, by my advice, Master Thomas, the bearer of 
this, whom I have known to be skilful in such knowledge, 
and I entreat on his behalf, that if you please, you will be 
willing to consider him commended, and that you will make 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 43 

known his skill to those who shall need his assistance (qui ejus 
auxilio indigebunt). May your paternity farewell and long." 

The disturbances caused on the frontiers of Wales by Prince 
Llewellyn were a source of disquiet to the bishop, to whom are 
directed accounts of the truce made with the Welsh prince, 
and of his disposition to break it, and of the fortification of 
Brecknock (Nos. 775-777), an appointment being made for the 
bishop to meet Llewellyn near Shrewsbury, to arrange peace. 
One of the letters (770) authentically chronicles the ignominious 
fate of a great lord connected with Sussex. William de Braose 
had, in 1218, been put into possession of his hereditary pro- 
perty by his father, Regmald, and after some border wars was 
seized by Llewellyn, while a bidden guest at an Easter feast, 
on suspicion of too great intimacy with his wife. Dugdale 
(Baron, i, 419) leaves the manner of his death uncertain (" some 
say he was hanged"), and is followed by Banks (Dorm. Bar. 
i, 43) ; but Matthew Paris (anno 1230) accurately reports that 
" he was htmg on a gibbet in the month of April,' and the 
following letter, though the MS. is much defaced, from a con- 
temporary witness near the spot, describes the execution to 
have been ostentatiously public, as if to correct any rumours 
of secret murder. The readiness of the Welch to see Braose 
hanged partook of a revengeful remembrance of the treachery 
by which many of their own chiefs had been slaughtered by 
Philip de Braose, in 1176 and 1198, and the frequent civil 
wars on their borders. " Crokin,*' the scene of this " spectacle," 
was perhaps Crwccas, near Brecon, or Crug Hywel (Crick- 
howell), or Crugcomey, near Bergavenny, where the Braoses 
had large possessions. The place where W. de Braose was 
buried is still known as Cae Gwilym ddu, or Black William's 
Field. There is much reason, however, to think that the lady 
implicated had no concern in his death. She was a natural 
daughter of King John, and, having been the wife of Llewellyn 
for nearly thirty years, her charms may fairly be supposed then 
somewhat faded, and moreover her husband, after her death 
six years later, built a monastery at Llanfoes over her tomb, 
and in the next generation intermarriage took place between 
his family and the Braoses. (Vide Th. Jones's Brecknock, i, 
64-131. 



44 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

The Cistercian Abbot of Vaudey, founded 1147, in the pariah 
of Edenham, Idncohishire, was probably the sender of the Lin- 
cohishire sheep into Sussex, mentioned afterwards, in 673, 678. 

770. " 2h the most Reverend Father and moat loving Lord 
Ralphs by the grace of God the venerable Bishop of Chichestety 
Chancellor of the Lord King^ brother N., called Abbot of 
Vaudey (de Valle Dei) greeting, and his whole self (salutem et 

se totum) (de domino W. de Braus quicquam dicatur) 

an3rthing be said of Sir William de Braus, know for certain 
that on the morrow {April 30) of the apostles Philip and 
James, at a certain manor which is called Crokin, he was 
hanged on a certain tree (in arbore quadam), nor that secretly 
or by night, but pubUcly and in fall day, 800 men, and more 
than that, being called together to this miserable and lament- 
able spectacle, and more men being summoned (oonvocatis), 
and those especially to whom Sir William de Braus and his 
sons were odious on account of the death of their ancestors, or 
some other sort of grievance inflicted on them. Farewell, 
(propter progenitorum suorum necem aut alterius modi illatam 
molestiam erant infesti)." 

It was probably during these Welsh wars that the bishop 
was earnestly entreated, by a letter from Evin Vechain, to pro- 
cure the release of his son from prison (No. 307). 

The preceding letters, though not belonging to the history 
of Sussex, yet have been introduced, as relating to the early life 
of so distinguished a bishop of Chichester, and as afibrding 
some genuine traits of the pursuits and occupations of eccle- 
siastics in remote times. The succeeding series of letters relate 
mostly to Sussex, and the greater number of them are written 
apparently from or near Aldingebume, by the bishop's Sussex 
seneschal or steward, Simon de SenUz, a zealous, shrewd, and 
somewhat crafty man of business, who seems not only to have 
familiarly reported the state of the farms, and the lawsuits, but 
also ecclesiastical ofiences. Of four generations bearing the 
same name, the first, Simon de Santo Licio, was a noble Norman 
at the Conquest, and his fourth descendant married a daughter 
of the Earl of Lincoln. The letter-writer speaks of his own 
brother (No. 679) as also named Simon. We find this faith- 



i 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 45 

fol agent in high trust long after the bishop's death, having 
been appointed by the king to try offences in co. Bucks, in the 
year 1265, as appears in a MS. letter, 431. 

667. After sending some pigs to the bishop, and promising 
more, S. de SenUz proposes buying oxen in Gloucestershire, 
because he hears they are cheap there. According to an in- 
quisition made on some lands in Somersetshire in 1254, oxen 
are valued at 5^., 6^., 68. 8rf., or 8*., cows at 4*. or 5*., wethers 
at dd.y ewes 9d., hoggets 5d., and Imnbs at 3rf. (Ad. deDomer- 
ham, ed. Heame, v. i.) 

" To his Reverend and excellent Lord Ralphs by the grace 
of God Bishop of Chichester^ his faithful servant, Simon de 
Senliz, greeting, and faithful service. — ^I send you now 19 
pigs, from your manor at Aldingebum, and, as soon as the pigs 
of your other manors shall be fat, I will send them to you. 
Si^iify to me, if you please, if Thomas of Cirencester (Cire- 
cestrie) has sent to you any message about procuring oxen, 
and if he shall not have done so, let me know ; also whether 
you wish that 1 should buy any oxen in those parts, and how 
many you wish 1 should buy, since inteUigence has been given 
me of a certain fair in those parts, in which good oxen are 
often sold at a reasonable rate. Let me know, if you please, 
about these and other matters, your good will and pleasure, by 
the bearer of this. — ^May my lord fare well." 

668. The Archdeacon of Lewes, whose death is speculated 
upon in the following letter, must have been Eustace de Lene- 
land, whose last year of office being in 1226, the date is 
thereby limited. A good bargain and the necessity of fox- 
hounds are equally urged upon the bishop's attention. The 
bishop seems to have inclosed some land at Watersfield (a 
tything in Cold Waltham parish), over which his neighbours 
claim right of common, and a lawsuit is threatened, against 
which the king's writ must be sent. 

" To his Reverend Lord Ralph, by the grace of God Bishop 
of Chichester, his devoted Simon de Senliz, greeting, and both 
devoted and due obedience and reverence in all things. — ^E., 



46 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

the Archdeacon of Lewes, has informed me that he had a con- 
ference with you at London, about granting a lease of the 
church of Al(Ungebume (super ecclesia de Aldingebume po- 
nenda ad firmam), at this instant time of autumn for 30 marcs 
(£20), to be paid him ready money, once for all (pre mambus 
simul et semel). Though you will be able safely to receive, in 
like manner, if you please, according to the sale of the wheat 
that there is now, yet as they cannot assure us about the future 

irear, on this account I am incapable of advising your excel- 
ency (excellentie vestre consulere pessume possumus) ; but if 
he should be willing to lease out the said church for less price 
than 30 marcs, do not omit to take it, considering above all, 
that if the same archdeacon should be dead before the Annun- 
ciation of the Blessed Virgin, he will receive nothing in the 
next future autumn from the produce (de fructibus nichU per- 
cipiet), wherefore it must necessarily be considered that it 
would turn to your advantage and profit. Send me, lord, the 
letters of the king (Hteras Domini regis) about the business of 
Sir William Dawtrey (de Alta Ripa) and Sir Hugh Sansaver 
(Hugonis sine averio), claiming to have common (damans 
habere communem) with you in your land of Watresfield, 
since they hold nothing of you, and do no service to you to 
entitle them to have common with you : but thsy are prompt in 
procuring a Writ of Novel Disseisin, in order to throw down 
your fence (breve de nova disseisina ad stemendum fossatvun) 
at Watresfield, whence it is necessary for you that the aforesaid 
letters should come. Be pleased to consider, if you please, 
about dogs fit to catch foxes in your park of Aldingebume, 
since the star for taking them is now passing by (sidus 
capiendi illos jam preterit). Deign to signify to me your 
good pleasure, if you please, about these matters and others 
which may concern you in Sussex . . know however . . for 
certain that your business . . {MS, imperfect) . . goes on in due 
course (ordinate). Mayyourholiness alwaysfarewellin the Lord." 

In the next letter a most extraordinary instance of clerical 
immorality occurs in the vicar of Mundeham (a small parish 
to the south of Chichester, which had been given to the priory 
of Boxgrove), and his plea of having the Pope's dispensation 
for having two wives is disbelieved even in Sussex. The mar- 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 47 

riage of the secular clergy was not unfrequent at this period, 
though prohibited by the decrees of popes and councils, but 
the claim of a priest to have two wives at once, as in this in- 
stance, is probably unparalleled. The foxes are again com- 
plamed of, as doing damage in the park of Aldingbum. 

669. {MS. defective) ''Simon de Serdiz to Ralph, Bishop of 
Chichester y (salutation as in 668). — Know, lord, that on my 
departure from London, .... as in oats sufficient for sowing 
at Totehal, as I believed, but it was afterwards signified . . . 
less was sown than was expected, wherefore if you count on 
coming to London shortly, signify .... I will provide, God 
willing, sufficiency for sowing both at Totehal and elsewhere, 
lest your letter, which God forbid, by default .... you will 
provide for yourself sufficiently in this matter .... a certain 
chaplain, William Dens by name, vicar of the church of Mun- 
deham, has two wives, as it is said, of whom one is resident at 
Chichester ; which William indeed brought forward letters of 
licence from the high pontiff, as he said, but ia these Sussex 
parts as well as in England {it is believed), that never did 
those letters emanate from the conscience of our lord the Pope, 
but were obtained contrary to the statutes of the general 
council (quidam capellanus Willelmus Dens nomine, vicarius 
ecclesie de Mimdeham duas habet uxores ut dicitur quarum 
una est residens apud Cicestriam, qui quidem W. Utteras 
detuht a summo pontefice ut dixit, set in partibus Sussex 
quam in Anglia {creditur) quod nunquam littere ille a con- 
sciencia Domini Pape eminaverunt, sed contra statuta concilii 
generalis fuerant impetrate) ; wherefore, if it please your hoU- 
ness, signify what you shall have decided to be notified to 
your official (officio vestro) on this matter : above all things 
taking care, if you please, to send some man with dogs fit to 
catch foxes (canibus aptis ad vulpes capiendos) in your park 
of Aldyngebum, who do us there much damage, and this 
shortly, since the star for taking them has passed away (sidus 
transiit ad illos capiendos) : deign to inform me, lord, if you 
please, of your condition, since I much desire to hear the cer- 
tainty of your safety and prosperity ; know for certain that I 
will show myself vigilant about your business, both in Sussex 
and elsewhere. May your holiness fare well in the Lord." 



48 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

670. {MS. imperfect,) The bishop being expected in 
Sussex, preparations are made by laying in provisions. A 
boundary line between Aldingbum and Hamptonett (Little 
Hampton) should be drawn. The cruelty of the bailiffs of 
William de Albini, the Earl of Arundel, is reported as obliging 
weekly resort to law for redress. The forest of Houghton 
was one of the oldest possessions of the see of Chichester, 
but as the Earls of Arundel claimed to have a distinct manor 
within it, constant disputes arose, and probably it is to these 
the letter refers. The precentor of Wells, WiUiam de Hammes 
(Hamsey ?), who held that office from 1217 to 1247, is a man 
to be guarded against. 

" To his Reverend Lord Malphy hy the grace of God Bishop of 
Chichester, his devoted Simon de Senliz, greeting, and submis- 
sion in all things equally devoted and due. — Concerning each 
of the articles (de singulis) which can be found in your bishopric, 
and were in my custody, I will make such provision, by the 
grace of God, by the term appointed me by you, that neither 
you nor yours in this particular shall find anything wanting 
to your advantage and honour by my slight or neghgence ; 
not retrenching this from your memory (a memoria non reci- 
dendo), if you please, that wines ought to be brought through 
the manors of your bishopric, by the help and .... of your 
people (quod vina per auxilium et . . . . m vestrorum per 
maneria episcopatus vestri venire oporteant), against your 
arrival, and although you wiU have a sufficiency of malt 
(bracium) ready in each of your manors, I will not have any 
of it ground or brewed (nihil faciam molire vel braciare) imtil 
I shall receive some command from you, in case of accidental 
events; and upon these and other matters I shall be glad to 
have a conference and discussion with you about the middle 
of Lent, if it should please you and can be done. From my 
sickness by which I was oppressed, by the favour of God, I 
am fully recovered, rendering you manifold thanks that it 
pleased you to know and to hear of my convalescence ; hum- 
bly assuming the burden of the office of your Stewardship 
(suscipiendo bonus seneschalcie vestre), until you shall pro- 
vide better for yourself, that is, at your arrival in the Sussex 
country (in parte Suxess) ; know besides, lord, that the names 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 49 

of the knights are Richard Lovel,* Thomas de Argentuii, 
between whom on the one side and you on the other, a boim- 
dary (divisa) ought to be made in your manor of Aldingebum 
and their manor of Hamptonett, and nothing has yet been 
done, nor has the sheriff of Sussex even satisfied me in any- 
thing, as he promised you in London, when three days for 
doing it were appointed him, the baihffs (baUivi) of the Earl, 
the Lord Earl of Arundell, behave themselves cruelly to- 
wards your church of Chichester and your tenants (adversum 
ecclesiam vestram Cicestrensem et tenentes vestros crudeUter 
se habent), nor do they choose to act more mildly on account 
of any threatening of your official (officialis vestri); where- 
fore, for the defence of the poor tenants and of your people, 
it behoves me and your servants almost every week tp resort 
to the hundred court of the earl (hundredum comitis adire). 
There is not in your bishopric either a rich or a poor man, 
who, for the sake of love and reverence to you, can offer 
more honour to your people (non est dives neque pauper qui 
vestris maximum pretendant honorem nisi), than Ralph de 
Bonewull and his associates, who keep the hundred court of 
the Earl of Arundell. Take good care, if you please, lest the 
precentor of Wells should circumvent you in anything, because 
he has devised to do certain things in your bishopric, which 
might turn out to your loss, which I will more fully expound 
to you by word of mouth, God permitting. Farewell." 

671. The vigilant steward prompts his master how to make 
the best bargain with a lady, if she should apply to him as 
to her claim in Beause, which perhaps was Beaubush, an 
inclosed park in St. Leonard's Forest. 

" To his Beverend Lord Balph, by the grace of God Bishop 
of Chichester y Chancellor of onr Lord the King, his devoted 
Simon de SenUz greeting, and with the greatest reverence 
due, and devoted service (famulatum) in all things. — I think 
your excellency well knows that John de BayUol ought to 
hold (debet tenere) of you a fief of three knights in your 
manor of Beause ; but it was seized indeed into your hand 
for default of the service (per defectum servicii) belonging to 

^ In the earliest Roll of Arms extant, 1240-5, published by Sir H. Nicolas, appears 
*< Itichard Lovell, d'or ung lion d'azure rampant.^' 

III. 4 



50 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

you in the said manor, and is still in your hand. From 

whom the Lady Sybilla, wife of Sir Richard de Cumbes, 

held a fief of one knight for her life, in the way of dower, 

and is now gone the way of all flesh ; in which fief Sybilla, 

wife of Sir Nicholas Haringod, claims an hereditary right 

for him (sibi), as it is said, even in those parts, that he (ipse) 

is the nearest heir of that tenement; nevertheless I have 

caused it to be seized in your hand for the aforesaid reason, 

nor will do anything henceforth without your special order. 

Wherefore, if the Lady Sybilla, wife of the said Nicholas 

Haringod, should by chance come to you, about to speak to 

you on these premises, I advise that you should talk with 

her, in order to have the said land by lease (ad firmam), or 

by some other method, if it can be done, since it is adjacent 

to your land in Beause, and, as I hope, will tend to your 

advantage, if you should be able to have it some way or 

other (fiJiquatenus), since this land, together with your own 

land of Beause, would be able to support 500 sheep at 

pasture; but however, that you be more assured what the 

said land is worth, know that there is there one ploughland 

in domain (una carucata in dominio), and 46* in fixed rent 

(in redditu assiso). Besides this. Lord, know that I have 

summoned the men of Bum about the Aid (auxihum) which 

they ought to have paid with you (solvere debebant vobiscum) 

at the feast of St. Michael now past, concerning which they 

would not answer me, but all with one voice said, that you 

have entirely remitted the said aid to them. What however 

on these premises or other matters your discretion may wish 

or feel, deign to write me back word, if you please. May 

the Lord preserve you for long time (per tempora longa).'" 

672. The following letter is highly characteristic of the 
adroit steward, who wished the bishop to earn all the honours 
of hospitahty without its cost. The Archbishop thus mocked with 
friendly invitation was either Richard Wethershed (1229-34), 
and S. de Senliz may not have wished to meet him, or it may 
have been his successor Edmund, after the bishop's abortive 
nomination to the primacy. Another attempt to entrap the 
Archbishop into an incautious agreement will be seen in 
No. 278, to which the present letter is probably subsequent, 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 51 

and he reports him, in 674, as having given hun " a shallow 
and feeble answer" about a disputed claim to common. S. de 
Senliz also urges an immediate application for a vacant canonry 
at Hastings, and asks for a writ to hunt out a runaway liegeman. 
672. " To his Beverend Lord, Ralph, hy the grace of Gvd 
Bishop of Chichester, his devoted Simon de Senliz greeting, 
and both devoted and due obedience and reverence in all things. 
— I am informed that the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, 
about this coming Lent, will come to Mailing, and will go 
in one day from Slindon as far as his manor of Terringes, on 
the morrow, being about to come to your manor of Preston,* 
and to tarry there for one night ; but He will provide himself 
there out of his own means, and wishes to accept nothing 
of yours ; wherefore, if you please, it would be well that you 
should write to him, that he should reside there at your cost, 
since I know well that he by no means wishes it, but yet 
it shall be to your honour, although he will by no means 
accept of yours. If you please, I will pay attention to him, 
so that it shall turn to your advantage and honour ; and you 
may know for certain that as long as he has sojourned at 
JSlindon, attention was paid him competently in presents 
from your manors of Aldingebum and Amberle. Besides 
these matters, send me, lord, if you please, a writ of our 
Lord the King to search after William le Weite, your native 
and fugitive. I am also informed that Fulco de Echingeham, 
canon of Hastinges, has died, so that, if you think fit, be 
pleased to write in favour of one of your clerks, to Sir Symon 
de Echingeham, his brother, to whose presentation the 
prebend belongs, as he says, since he is your friend as I 
believe. Upon these and other matters deign to signify 
your pleasure to me. May your holiness for ever prosper in 
the Lord." ^ 

^ The bishop had obtained the grant of a market at Preston, June 28, 1226. 

' 672. '< Reverendo domino suo Radulpho Dei gracia Cycestrensi Episcopo derotus suus 
Simon de Senliz, salntem, et tarn devotam quam debitam in omnibus obedientiam. — Datur 
ndhi intelligi quod Dominus Cantuarensis Archiepiscopus drciter banc instantem quadra- 
gesimam venturus est apud Mallinges, et ibit una die de Slindon usque ad manerium suum 
de Terringes, in crastino venturus ad manerium vestrum de Preston, et ibidem moram 
fftcturus per unam noctem, sed ex suo proprio ibidem se ipse exhibebit, et nichil de yestro 
Tult acdpere, unde, si placet, bene esset ut scriberetis ei, ut ibidem residereret super 
custum yestrum, quoniam bene scio quod nullo modo yult, sed tamen ad yestnim cedet 
honorem; etsi nullo modo de vestro Tult acdpere. si placet, faciam d regardum, ita quod 



02 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

679. The bishop being expected in London, fuel, Iambus 
fur, &c., are got ready for him. Some sheep from Vaudey 
are wanted, and it is a proof that Sussex sheep were either 
bad or scarce, to have made it worth while to send for them 
from so distant a country as Lincolnshire ; and it is agree- 
able for modem farmers to contrast such a state with the 
renown of their own Southdown breed. A supply of 
beef for the bishop's London larder is wanted ; some wheat 
too, when ground in Hertfordshire, was to be sent up for 
his use. 

" 7b his Reverend Lord Ralph, by the grace of God Bishop 
of Chichester y Chancellor of our Lord the King, his devoted 
Simon de SenUz, greeting, and with the greatest reverence 
due and devoted service (famulatum) in all things. — Know, 
most dear Lord, that I have been in London, where, to the 
best of my powers, I have laboured, and made provision that 
you should there have a sufficiency of good wine {fhe MS. is 
faint, and the toord uncertain, whether vinum or frumentum), 
and wood for burning (Ugna ad comburendum, braciandum 
et fomiandum) ; and by the grace of God, all your affairs, 
both at Westmidn and elsewhere, go on duly and prosperously. 
I have provided that you have lamb's fur (fururam agnorum) 
in sufficiency, as I think, against the winter, for the use of 
your household. Moreover, my lord, please to think about 
procuring sheep (de multonibus perquirendis) at the Abbey of 
Vaudey, or elsewhere, and sending them to Sussex. Speak 
also to Sir Robert de Laxington about having oxen for your 
larder (ad lardarium vestrum), in London. Deign to inform 
me, if you please, the certainty about your condition and your 
arrival iu London, iuasmuch as I consider your advice and 
handling necessary for your affairs. If you should think it fit, 

ad vestrum cedet commodum et honorem, et sciatis pro certo quod quamdiu moram fedt 
in Slindon, competenter factum fiiit ei regardum in exenmis de maneriis vestris de 
Aldingebum et Amberle. preter hec, Domine, si placet, mittatis mihi breve Domini Regis 
ad perquirendum Willelmum le Wdte, nativum et fiigitivum vestrum. datur etiapi mihi 
intelligi quod fulco de Echingeham canonicus de Hastinges diem clausit extremum, unde, 
si videtis expedire, scribere vditis pro uno de clericis vestris Domino Symoni de Echingeham 
fratri suoy ad cujus collacionem spectat prebenda, ut dicit, quoniam amicus vester est, ut 
credo, super hiis et aliis bene placitum vestrum significare dignemini. Valeat sanctitas vestra 
semper in Domino.'' 



BISHOP OF CHICH£ST£R. 53 

lord, I recommend (laudo) that a part of the old wheat at West- 
miilii should be gromid, and sent to London against your arrival. 
I will employ myself, both in Sussex and elsewhere, vigilantly. 
I send to the feet of your holiness, my brother Simon,^ as 
you have directed. May your holiness always fare well in the 
Lord." 

673. An inquisition of the land of John de Nevill, who 
was perhaps a deceased tenant of the bishop, is set on foot. 
The audit now approaches, and occupies much of the steward's 
time, but he proposes many new arrangements about the 
tenants. The dearth of good Sussex shepherds is marked by 
his keeping one from Lincolnshire, and another from Glouces- 
tershire, as he does on another occasion (686) also from 
Worcestershire ; the Broyle of Chichester is bringing into cul- 
tivation from its rough state; the difficulty of sending up 
venison to London, because the carts are wanted for the 
sowing season, is noted. 

What a careful attention the bishop paid to the success of 
his farming,. appears strongly marked by the account of his 
stock, kept by him. " Inventory (carta) of the implements in 
stock of the bishopric of Chichester, for ever, in the whole of 
his manors, not to be diminished or removed at the will of 
any one whosoever, namely, 150 oxen for the ploughs, 100 
cows, 100 bulls, 3150 sheep, 120 goats, 6 he-goats, and 10 
horses for the ploughs." (Regist. Rede MS., in Dallaway's 
Chichester.) He was however far outdone by his contemporary 
Michael de Ambresbury, abbot of Glastonbury, who, on his 
resignation, in 1252, "left the abbey free from debt, his lands 
excellently cultivated, and this stock : oxen 892, which make 
111^ ploughs in all («^ 8 oxen each), farm horses 60, colts 23, 
cows 233, bulls 19, bullocks 153, steers 26, calves of the last 
year 126; wethers 1630, ewes 2611, rams 32, lambs and 
hoggrels 1162, lambs of last year 1276 : sum of all the sheep, 
in the whole, 6711 ; pigs, 327." (Adam de Domerham, de 
R^b. Glast. p. 622.) 

'* To his Reverend Lord Ralph, hy the grace of God 

'' There are other instances of this period where two brothers have the same Christian 
name. 



54 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

Bishop of Chichester, his devoted Simon de Senliz, greeting, 
and both devoted and due obedience and reverence in sJl 
things. — On the Monday next before the Feast of St. Michael, 
I received your letters at Bueause, which you transmitted to 
me first, that I might inquire about the land (ut inquirerem 
de terra) of John de Nevfll, knight, and immediately after the 
receipt of these letters I sent on to make the inquiry (ad in- 
quisitionem faciendam), according to the tenor of your com- 
mand (mandatum), since I was not able then, in my own 
person, to give attention to it, inasmuch as your sir official 
(dominus officialis vester) and I are employed, and are dihgent 
about auditing the account of your manors, but as soon as the 
inquisition of that land shall have been made, which will be 
shortly, I will transmit to you that inquisition, distinctly and 
openly reduced to writing. I retain in Sussex the friar of 
Vaudey (de Valle dei) until I shall have held the audit, inas- 
much as I have proposed to keep sheep (bidentes), in your 
hands, on your manors, and therefore I keep back the friar, 
in order that the sheep may more advisedly and usefully be 
provided for through him. Know, besides, lord, that, after 
auditing the account of Roger de Hertford, I wiU, if you 
please, commit the custody of your manor of Bissopestone to 
Henry, a serving-man of Bum, and chiefly on account of the 
sheep (bidentes), which I keep in your hands, because I think 
that the said Henry will manage, in such Uke business, well 
and competently, and also will, if you please, be able easily to 
keep (custodire) the manor of Bum, together with the manor 
of Bissopestone, and easier than Bum and Buxle {BexhillY), 
on account of the crossing over the water of Pevenesell, and 
then some one else wiU be able to keep (custodire) the manor 
of Buxle without a horse. To Richard, whom Thomas de 
Cirencester sent you, I have delivered the manor of Preston to 
keep, because, as I believe, he knows how to manage about 
keeping sheep, and I will take care that your Broyle (Brullius 
vester) at Chichester shall in the meanwhile be well treated, 
and advanced to the proper state (bene tractabitur et ad statum 
debitum producetur). I also wish it not to be concealed 
from your excellency, that Master ^{eginald), your official 
(officialis), and I will be at Aldingeburn on the Sunday next after 
the feast of St. Fides {Oct, 6) to make the boundary there 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 00 

between the Lord of Canterbury and you ; and, if it please you, 
your long cart (longa caretta) might easily come to Aldinge- 
bum on that day, in which I will forward to you in London 
venison taken in your parks, and other provision (aliam wamis- 
turam), and also the cloth bought for the use of the poor, as 
much as you shall like, three hundred ells of which I bought 
at Winchester fair, since the above things cannot be forwarded 
at present by your small carts (per caretas vestras parvas) from 
the manors, on account of the time for sowing, which is at 
hand. Among other things, know that the crops on your 
manors are safely and useftdly gathered in for your advantage, 
and are deposited in bams (in horrea deponuntur), and all 
your other affairs go on well, by the grace of God, and are 
duly carried on, and for this I will diligently labour with all 
my strength. As soon as your sir official (dominus officialis 
vester) and I shall have made the round of your manors 
(transitum fecerimus per maneria vestra) for auditing accounts, 
we will come to you wherever you please. May your excel- 
lency ever flourish in the Lord." 

674. S. de Senhz is engaged with the purchase of Depemarsh 
for the bishop from R. de Aguillon. This consisted of 313 
acres of land, called Depemarsh or New Broyle, as being con- 
tiguous to the Broyle near Chichester. It derived its name 
from bruillum, a heath, and seems at this time to have been 
principally woodland. This tract of land is always termed the 
Chichester Broyl, to distinguish it from anothefr broyle in 
Ringmer, belonging to the archbishop. R. de Aguillon, the 
vender, was probably of the same family as Nicholas Aguillon, 
dean of Chichester, 1210-15, and William Aguillon, who held 
three knights' fees of the honor of Arundel, about this time. 
The dispute with the abbot of Seez about his claim to common is 
arranged. This Norman abbey of Benedictines had the right of 
Free Warren in Little Hampton, and also held lands in Easter- 
gate, now forming the prebend of Gates, with lands in Alding- 
bume and Birdham. The bailiff of the abbey dwelt at Bailies 
Court, as it is still called, on their manor of Atherington, in 
Little Hampton ; and the steward reports, that he has bought 
up the crops of the next harvest, and has been erecting ox- 
sheds, and bringing land into cultivation at the Broyle. The 



56 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

archbishop has given a shallow answer about his claim to 
common : is any venison to be sent up ? 

" To /lis Reverend Lord Ralph, hy the grace of God Bishop 
of Chichester, Chancellor of the Lord King, his devoted Simon 
de Senliz greeting, and with the utmost devotion, due obe- 
dience, and service. — ^Do not take it ill that I did not come to 
you before your departure ; I wish, indeed, I could come to 
you quicker, to hold council, and to treat of your innumerable 
aflPairs. But I staid in Sussex, because a day had been ap- 
pointed Sir R. Aguillon® at Arundel, the Thursday next after 
the feast of St. Peter ad vincula {Aug* 1), that on that day he 
might give you such security (immunitatem) as he could for 
the wood and the land which is called Depemers, who indeed 
caused his own deed (chartam) to be made for you, the transcript 
of which I send you under this form, namely, that the said R. 
has demised to you and your successors, and has quitclaimed 
for ever, for himself and his heirs, all his right and claim which 
he had or could have in the land and wood called Depemers : 
wherefore, if you shall see that that form is sufficient and ex- 
pedient, it pleases me well ; but if otherwise, cause another 
form to be made which you ought to have, and transmit it to 
me ; since I have by me letters patent (penes me patentes) of 
the said R., that he will give all manner of security (omni- 
modam securitatem faciet) to you, according as you shall see 
what ought to be done, and to do so has sworn before prudent 
and discreet men named for the purpose. But I asked him at 
the time to deUver to me the deed (cartam) of those from whom 
the right and claim descended (descendit) to him, but he 
answered, that (he had) no deed, which makes mention of 
Depemers separately ; but it makes mention of Depemers con- 
jointly vnth certain land adjacent to Depemers, which the said 
R. holds in his own hand, so that the said land is conjoined in 
one and the same deed with the wood (bosco) of Depemers. 
But I asked him to let you have the deed of the heir from 
whom the right descended, which makes mention separately 
of Depemers ; he answered, that he could by no means do so, 
and thus I left him. What, however, your discretion may 
wish and feel on this matter, write back your pleasure by the 
bearer of this. But T will tarry in the parts near London, 

8 <* Robert Agulon, de goules ov ung fleur de lis d'argent." (Roll of Arms, 1240-45.) 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 57 

either at Westmuln {Westmill, co, Herts)^ or at Burneham and 
elsewhere, waiting for your pleasure and command. Know 
for certain that I have met the lord abbot of Seez in the pre- 
sence of Master ^{effinald) your official (officialis) and Daniel 
your clerk, about this, that he claims for himself common, 
where he is not entitled to have any. At length, by the con- 
sent of the said abbot and his bailiffs (baUivorum), we have 
provided an agreement (formam), competent and reasonable, 
as well as useful to you as we think, by which is appeased the 
contest and discord between you and Sir W. Marescall, about 
common which he claims for himself. Know moreover that I 
have bought for your use, of Sir Hugh de Nevill, all his autumn 
crops from his manor of Stokes {near Arundel), with the pro- 
duce of the gardens, for £16, of which I have paid him in 
ready money £10, and he will receive 100*. on the coming 
feast of St. Michael. Among other things, know that I am 
causing to be raised a certain ox-shed (facio levare quandam 
bovariam), in the Chichester Broile, in a good and fitting situa- 
tion, which will contain 100 feet in length, and will be con- 
structed within these next eight days, and I carry on the 
assarting and fallowing vigorously (facio essartare et warettare 
efficaciter)^ in the same Broile ; and by the grace of God all 
your affairs, both in Broyle and elsewhere, on your manors, 
duly, and properly, and orderly, are handled and advance. 
Let me know too, if you please, whether I am to take venison 
in your parks, and how much by the feast of St. Michael. As 
to the pasture which the men of our Lord of Canterbury 
claim for themselves in your manor of Aldingeburne, I 
have spoken with the Lord of Canterbury himself, whose 
answer was shallow and feeble (cujus responsio tenuis fuit 
et debilis) ; wherefore, if you please, get ready our lord 
the king's writ to appoint an attorney, so that I may be your 
attorney to make the boundary (ad faciendam divisam) be- 
tween him and you. I beseech your excellency not to be 
angry because WilUam the Fowler (le oisellur) did not come 
to you, inasmuch as he holds the place of collecting wheat at 
Horton, and let me know in what part he should come to you, 
and I will send him to you as soon as I shall come into the 

' To assart is to bring forest land into arable or pasture ; waretare is to prepare the 
land by ploughing, or perhaps by a fallow. 



58 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

Sussex country. I should know more certainly and more 
openly how to carry on your affairs, if I could have a con- 
ference with you ; and wlule I am near London, let me know, 
if you please, if I must come to you, since, while I am nigh, 
I could easily transfer myself to you. May your excellency 
prosper in the Lord.'* 

675. The difficulties about the title deeds of Deepmarsh 
are again adverted to. The bishop's chaplain at WestmUl (co. 
Hertford) is in very bad repute with his parishioners, and his 
manner of life not to be endured. 100 pigs are sent for pan- 
nage to a forest of Hugh de Neville. 

The same to the same {as in 668). — " As I have written to 
you elsewhere, I have met Sir R. Aguillon, that he may give 
you indemnity (immunitatem) about Depemers, who caused 
his own deed (cartam) to be made, in which he quitclaims all 
that he has had or could have in Depemers, the transcript of 
which deed I have sent you ; but I asked him to let you have 
the deed of the heir from whom the right has descended : he 
said that he had none which made mention of Depemers sepa- 
rately, nor will he let you have any from the heir, which makes 
mention of Depemers separately ; wherefore it seems to me, 
that, saving your peace, you have not sent me in your letters 
the certainty what I am to do about it, since I have vrith me 
the letters patent (literas patentes) of R. himself, together 
with a deed of quitclaim,*® in which (in quibus continetur) is 
contained, as I have otherwise told you, that he will give you 
every manner of security (securitatem) about Depemers, 
which he ought to give. Wherefore it is not needful, nor 
is it so well fitting between us in my absence, that I should 
retain in my possession at once both the deed of quitclaim 
and his letters patent about giving you security, because 
I firmly promised him to deliver up to him on my next arrival 

^^ No. 1081. " Know present and future, that I, Reginald Aguillon, have released and 
quitclaimed, for me and my heirs for ever, all the right and claim which I or my heirs 
have, or ought to have, by the donation or grant of Nicholas, son of Robert, son and heir 
of Julian de la Wade, in the woodland, which is called Depmersh, in Broyle, outside 
Chichester, to the venerable father Ralph, Bishop of Chichester, and chancellor of the 
lord king, and to his successors, as the deed of quitclaim which I have made to Sir 
William St. John, marks out and testifies ; in testimony of which, &c." 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 59 

his deed or his letters patent. The deed, however, which you 
in your letters which you have forwarded to me call common, 
he will give up to no one's custody, as it makes mention of a 
certain land, which he holds in demesne together with 
Depemers ; but if you shall think that it would be sufficient 
to dispatch the form of the deed, whose transcript I sent vou, 
I am well pleased, but if not, I advise that the deed itself be 
given back to R. himself, and that you retain the letters 
patent, until sufficient satisfaction shall have been given you 
for the indemnity which he is bound to give. About that 
which I reported to you concerning the abbot of Seez, you 
have sent me nothing certain, except that you approve of the 
treaty with him : wherefore, if you approve of my arrange- 
ment, write to the lord the abbot, that you ratify the 
arrangement which I may make with him, and if you please 
let me know what manner of security I may accept from him, 
which will hold good with the arrangement made. Know 
also that H., your chaplain of Westmulne, is evil spoken of 
greatly in his parish, both by the elders and the younger ; for 
they charge upon him many things which do not become a 
chaplain, saying that they can in no manner endure such 
things as they see and consider about him (ceterum sciatis 
quod H. capellanus vester de Westmulne multum diffamatur 
in parochia sua tam a majoribus quam a minoribus. Im- 
ponunt enim ei multa que non decent capellanum, dicentes se 
ea que de eo vident et perpendunt nullo modo posse sustinere) ; 
wherefore, if you please, take counsel on this, informing me if 
he ought to be removed from thence, or stay there longer, and 
this speedily if you please, since, as you well know, the time of 
retaining or removing chaplains is at hand." Ask Sir Hugh 
de Nevill, if you please, to write to his forester (forestario) of 
Wauberg, that he may receive 100 pigs to pannage (in pes- 
sonam) which T., your bailiff of Westmulne, wiU send on to 
him on your behalf. At the departure of this I am at West- 
mulne, and I shall immediately begin to journey towards 
Sussex, as you have directed me, where, by God's help, I will 

" This seems to imply that chaplains were engaged by the year only, probably ending 
at Michaehnas. Five marcs a year (3^. 6s. Sd,) had been fixed by Archbishop Langton as 
the minimnm for a perpetual vicar, but a rector might engage a curate with a stipend of 
40*. Gilbert, Bishop of Chichester, raised this in 1289 to five marcs as a minimum in his 
diocese. 



60 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

apply diligence about your aflPairs being taken care of and put 
in order. May your excellency farewell in the Lord." 

676. The buying and sending iron from Gloucestershire to 
Winchester is remarkable, and is referred to at p. 177 of 
vol. II of 8ms. Arch. Collections. The abbot of Gloucester, 
who was to forward on the iron, was Henry FoUot about this 
time. The vacant vicarage of Walberton, near Arundel, which 
had been given to the priory of Boxgrave by W. de St. John, 
in the twelfth century, is asked for on behalf of the bishop's 
clerk Philip. 

From the same to the same {as in 668). — "I have looked 
into the letters of Sir H. de Kynard directed to you, which I 
transmit to you, informing your holiness that he misunder- 
stood (male intellexit) your order about buying iron, writing 
to you that he was to buy 10 marcs worth of one sort and 
100^. worth of another ; wherefore, since the said H. has mis- 
understood your order, be pleased to write to him, that he is 
to procure you 10 marcs of small iron (de minuto ferro) if it 
can be found, but if not, then 6 marcs of the large (de grosso), 
and 6 marcs of the small iron, and that he must have it car- 
ried to Gloucester. Write also, if you please, to the lord 
abbot of Gloucester, that he may have it carried on to Win- 
chester, to the house of your host (ad domum hospitis vestri),^^ 
which can be easily done, and without expense. I lay affec- 
tionate entreaties at the feet of your holiness, humbly and 
most devoutly suppUcating your excellency that for charity's 
sake (caritatis intuitu), and at my instance and petition, you 
wiU be pleased to write to the lord prior of Boxgrave, that 
he, at your instance, may confer upon your clerk Philip a cer- 
tain small vicarage, now vacant, at Wauburton, which belongs 
to his donation, if you have not already intreated him for some 
other clerk ; for I well understand, that he will most willingly 
attend to your request. Deign, my lord, to inform me of your 
pleasure as to your condition, since I very much deUght to 
hear the certainty of your safety and prosperity. Moreover 
Sir H. de Kynard advises you that the iron should be freighted 
(sit cariatandum) at BristoU, and not at Gloucester ; but if it 

*2 Perhaps the house usually occupied by the chancellor, when in attendance ^on the 
king at Winchester. 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 61 

agrees with your pleasure, I advise you that it should be 
brought to Gloucester, inasmuch as it will be able to be car- 
ried to Winchester more easily, and at less expense to 
your advantage. May your holmess always fare well in the 
Lord." 

677. The preceding letter as to Walberton was effective, 
and is backed up by another, sending Master Philip himself 
to thank the bishop. 

From the same to the same (as in 668.) — " I send to the feet 
of your holiness your clerk Philip, bearer of this, returning to 
your excellency manifold thanks upon bended knees, that by 
your favour you have been pleased to request the lord prior of 
Boxgrave about the vicarage of Wauburton. I hope, indeed, 
that the said prior will assent to your petition, if you would 
confer with him ; which Philip indeed will inform you, by 
word of mouth, about your business in Sussex, and on that 
account I send you no other letters at present, and the said 
Philip will personally explain to you your affairs. May your 
hoKness always fare well in the Lord. ' 

678. From the same to the same, relates to an inquisition, 
according to the king's writ having been delayed ; probably 
the same to which the archbishop's letter 268 refers ; but 
the MS. is defaced, and nearly illegible. 

680. Two horses brought up from Sussex are sold to a 
London mercer for £10, because their keep in London is so 
expensive. In a MS. extant of the Priory of Sele, near 
Bramber, in 1324-5 (Add. MSS. 6164, f. 342), the value of 
horses and other farming stock then found there is thus 
stated : " A palfrey of the prior, 25*. M, ; horse for a knight 
(equus pro armigero), 1 marc ; 3 cart horses at hs. each ; 
2 plough horses (affri) 6^. %d, ; 4 pack horses (jumenta) at 6*.; 

1 male foal, 2^. ; 17 oxen at 12*.; 1 bull, 5^. ; 2 cows at 10^.; 

2 young oxen at 6*. 8^?. ; 3 bullocks at 4*. ; 6 calves at 2«. ; 
14 sheep (multones) at 2^. ; 60 hoggrels at 10c?. ; boar, 4«. ; 
20 swine at 3^. ; 4 sows at 2*. ; 14 young pigs at 14c?., and 25 
at 6fl?. each ; 2 carts hooped with iron (carete ferro ligate),10«. ; 
2 ploughs with apparatus, 4^." It appears, therefore, that the 



62 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

bishop's horses must have been good ones to fetch so good a 
price as they did. 

S. de 8, to B. de N, {as in 668.)—" Know that I have 
agreed with Wat de Froille, your serving-man at Bumeham, 
that he should go to Boulton, and tarry there, to take charge 
of those things which belong to you, who answers me that 
he will conform to your wiD in this particular with a willing 
mind ; wherefore it is advisable that he or some other should 
go to Bolton with haste. But I have spoken with Geoffi-ey of 
London, the mercer, that he may buy two horses, which I have 
had brought up from Sussex, who offered me for them 1 5 marcs 
(£10), and no more, so that if you please that they should be 
so sold, it is expedient that they should be sold soon, since it is 
heavy and burdensome to keep horses (grave et honerosum 
est sustentare equos) in London. What, however, your dis- 
cretion may feel on these and other matters, deign to inform 
me, if you please, by letter. At the departure of this I am 

at Bumeham {MS. imperfecf). Then I am going to 

proceed to Stamford for the same reason. May your excel- 
lency always fare well in the Lord." 

682. S. de Senliz has bought 12 acres of good timber in 
the Broyle at 40*. per acre, a good bargain; wheat crop 
abundant, and got in dry ; 2 carts employed in marling at 
Selsey, as the marl found there is said to be the best. If 
more carts are advisable, 12 mares should be borrowed for 
them, as horses sell as dear as gold in Sussex. A wardship 
would be convenient, and, indeed, in those times the profits 
arising from rich wards were always eagerly coveted at court. 
In the Peterborough Chronicle, lately published by the Camden 
Society, Bishop Ralph appears to have received from the abbot 
a grant of the wardship of the lands of Brian de la Mare, after 
a suit concerning it had been decided in the abbey's favour 
by Hugh de Nevill, the Forester, a transaction rather sus- 
picious ; and on the king confirming the charters of the abbey 
in 1227, 28 marcs (£16 13*. 4rf.) were given to Bishop Ralph, 
" ad opus Cancellarii." Marling goes on at Watresfield, where 
the new windmill works well. On the question of this marl at 
Selsey, the great Sussex geologist. Dr. 6. A. Mantell, has 
kindly favoured me with the following remarks : " I am not 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 63 

aware that the true chalk marl, or malm, as it is provincially 
termed in West Sussex, is any way visible near Selsey ; but 
as the tertiary strata that conceal the fundamental chalk 
rocks of that part of the country are of variable thickness, it 
is possible the chalk marl may protrude in some locality not 
now observed, on or near the bishop's farm ; in which case 
' marla optima' would be a very proper designation. Other- 
wise, as Selsey lies between Bognor and Bracklesham, in 
both which places marls and clays occur, belonging to the 
tertiary deposits of the London and Hampshire basins, as 
they are geologically termed, it is possible that some argil- 
laceous stratum may have been met with at no great depth 
from the surface that furnished the marl in question." 

The St. Johns in this part of the country had been great 
benefactors to Boxgrave Priory, and were a family of import- 
ance whose names frequently occur in the old documents of 
Sussex history. 

From the same to the same (as in 671.) — " Know, Lord, 
that I have bought for your use 12 acres of timber in the 
Chichester Broyl from Sir H. de St. John, of the best timber at 
my choice, 40«. for each acre, by the counsel of your freemen 
and Uegemen, who assert firmly that each acre is worth four 
marcs (£2. 13^. 4^?.), and I well beUeve that W. de St. John 
will give us some from his own timber in the said Broyl. 
I wish you also not to be ignorant that the wheat in each of 
your manors in your diocese is weU and plentifully gathering 
in for your benefit, and is being safely deposited in your 
granaries without any flood of rain. There will be nothing 
left to gather on the morrow of the Beheading of Blessed 
John the Baptist {Au^. 29). By the grace of God all your 
aflfairs proceed prosperously in Sussex, and I will strive with 
all my strength that they shall not proceed otherwise. I am 
using marl at Selsey with 2 carts, as it is said that the marl 
found there is the best ; wherefore if you should see it to be 
advisable that I should use marl with more carts, I advise you 
should procure from Sir Godescall, or elsewhere, 12 mares to 
draw in the carts, inasmuch as it is expedient for you to pro- 
cure them in those parts, because they are as dear as gold 
in Sussex. Be pleased, lord, to speak with the lord the lang. 



64 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

that he may commit to you the wardship of the land of Sir 
Amauri de Croun, until the fiill age of the heir, since I could 
then conveniently provide to your advantage for your manors 
in stock and other business. In like manner I am using marl 
at Watresfield with 5 carts, and I much hope that it will 
result to yoiu* advantage ; the windmill also there is ready and 
well fitted up, and it grinds. Sir W. de St. John answers me 
kindly that he will with a willing mind fulfil your wish and 
good pleasure about the business, concerning which I should 
have a conference with him, as you directed me, and as else- 
where I have informed you. Upon the aforesaid and other 
matters deign to signify to me your pleasure. I desire also 
concerning your condition and safety to be assured. May 
the Lord preserve you for long time." ^^ 



681. The steward reports that eleven horses, sent by the 
bishop, had arrived safe; his bams are full, and the harvest abun- 
dant ; that he is sawing and carrying timber fi'om the Broyle, 
and wants somebody to help him in the Michaelmas audit. 

^ 682. " Reverendo domino suo R. gratia Dei Cicestrensi episcopo Domini R^ Can- 
cellario devotus suus Simon de Senliz salutem, et tarn devotmn quam debitum in onmibus 
famulatmn.— Sciatifly Domine quod ad opus yestrmn emi xii. acres de meheremio in Bmillo 
Cicestrensi de Domino Willehno de Sancto Johanne, de meliori meheremio in electione 
mea, quamlibet acram pro xl"*, et hoc de consilio liberorum et legalium hominmn vestrormn, 
qui firmiter asserunt quod quelibet acra yalet iy. marcas, et bene credo quod Willdmus de 
S. Johanne dabit nobis aliquantum de meheremio suo in dicto Bruillo. Nolo etiam yos 
latere, quod bladum in singulis maneriis yestris in episcopatu yestro bene et fructuose ad 
commodum yestrum colligitur, et absque pluyie inundacione in horrea yestra salyo depo- 
nitur. Nihil ex eo erit ad colligendum in crastino decollationis Beati Johannis Batiste. 
(Aug. 29) » gratia Dei singula negocia yestra pi'ospere procedunt in Sussex, et laborabo pro 
yiribus ne aliter procedant. Marlare facio apud Seleseiam cum duabus carretis, quoniam 
ut dicitur marla ibi inyenta optima est, unde si yideritis expedire ut marlare £Eudam cum 
pluribus carretis, consulo ut perquiratis de Domino (rodescaU yel alibi xii. equas ad 
trahendum in carretis, quoniam expedit yobis, ut in partibus illis illas perquiratis, quoniam 
ut aurum emantur in Sussex. Loquimini si placet, Domine, cum Domino Rege, ut com-* 
mittat yobis custodiam terre Domini Amouri de Croun, usque ad plenam etatem heredis, 
quoniam tunc commode possem ad utilitatem yestram maneriis proyidere de instauro et de 
aliis negociis. Similiter marlare facio apud Watresfeld cum y caretis, et bene spero quod 
cedet ad utilitatem yestram. Molendinum etiam ad yentum ibidem promptum est et bene 
paratum et molit. Dominus Willelmus de S. Johanne benigne michi respondet quod animo 
libenti yoluntatem yestram et beneplacitum de negocio, de quo colloquium haberem cum 
eo, sicut michi precipistis, et sicut alias yobis significayi, adimplebit. Super predictis et 
aliis yoluntatem yestram michi significare dignemini. Desidero etiam de statu yestro et 
incolumitate certitudinem audire. Dominus conseryet yos per tempora longa.'' 



BISHOP OP CHICHESTER. 65 

S, de 8, toB.de K {as in 668).—" Know, lord, that on 
the Sunday next after the Nativity of the Blessed Mary 
{Jan. 1), I received, at Aldingebum, by the hands of Robert 
Blund, Willam de Araz, and your messenger, Brawer, eleven 
horses, which you forwarded there, and by the grace of God 
they came there safely. Your bams on your manors are com- 
petently filled with the crops, and I well understand that in 
many manors you have more sheaves this year than you had 
in the year gone by. I am occupied in sowing on most of 
your manors, and in carrying the timber from the Broyle of 
Chichester, bought from Sir W. de Saint John, as far as your 
residence at Chichester. Moreover, lord, I urgently beseech 
your excellency to inform me, if you please, before the day of 
St. Michael, who should audit the account of your reeves in 
Sussex, in conjunction with me, for I do not calculate that 
Master Reginald de Winton,^* your official, will be able to 
attend constantly to that business, and even now the feast of 
St. Michael is at hand, the season for auditing the acox)unt. 
What therefore upon this and your other business in your 
diocese, your discretion may please and feel, deign to intimate 
to me, if you please, since immediately after auditing the 
account I will come to you in London, unless previously, by 
your command, I should go elsewhere. By the grace of God, 
all your affairs in Sussex go on and are treated duly ; and for 
this I labour with all my power, as I know that you wish it ; 
deign to write to me your good pleasure upon the aforesaid 
and other things. May the Most High preserve, for long 
time, your life and safety." ^* 

1^ He was archdeacon of Lewes in 1227 and in 1239. 

^ 681. *^ Reverendo Domino suo Radulpho gratia Dei Cioestrie Episcopo, Domini Regis 
Canoellario devotus snus Simon de Senliz salutem, et tarn devotam quam debitam obe- 
diendam et reverentiam. Sciatis, Domine, quod die Dominica proxima post nativitatem 
Beate Marie recepi apud Aldingebum per manus Roberti Blund, Willehni de Araz et 
Bruwer nundi yestri, xi. equos quos iliuc transmisistisi et gratia Dei salYO yenerunt. 
Horrea vestra in maneriis vestiis competenter frugibus sunt impleta, et bene intelligo 
quod in pluribus maneriis plnres habetis garbas hoc anno quam anno preterito habuistis. 
seminare fiacio in plerisque maneriis vestris et cariare meremium de Bruyllo Cyoestrensi, 
empto a Domino Willehno de Sancto Johanne, usque in curiam vestram de Cyoestrie. ad 
hec Domine, rogo excellentiam vestram attentius, ut si placet significetis mihi ante diem 
S. Michaelis quis debeat una mecum audire compotum de pfepositis vestris in Sussex, 
quoniam non puto quod magister Reginaldus de Wynton officiahs vester possit UU negocio 
vacare continue et nunc festum S. MichaeUs instat, tempus compotus audiendi. Igitur 
III. 5 



66 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

688. An agreement is in progress between Sir W. de St. 
John and W. de Goodwood. Marling with twelve carts at 
Aldingebum. Fish cannot well be sent up from Sussex to 
London, unless the bishop sends his sumpters on purpose. 

S. de S. to B. de N. {as in 671). — " Your excellency should 
know that I liave conferred with Sir W. de St. John upon 
the business which was intrusted to me by you, who kindly 
answers me that he will most readily assent to your will in this 
particular, as soon as he shall have had an interview with you. 
But the same Sir William, according to the agreement begun 
and arranged between you and him in London concerning the 
business of William de Godewewd, has appointed a day for 
the said William at Boxgrave, on the Thursday next after the 
feast of S. Andrew {Nov. 30), in order that there, in presence 
of the Lord Dean of Chichester, and your official and me, 
peace should be restored between them, if possible ; and I 
will strive for this to the best of my power, with the greatest 
diligence. I also wish you not to be unaware (nolo vos latere) 
that on the morrow of the blessed virgin Catherine {Nov. 25) 
twelve carts were ready for marling in your manor at Aldinge- 
bum. I also beseech you, dearest lord, that, if you should 
judge it necessary that fish should be forwarded with cer- 
tainty from Sussex to you in London, you will cause to be 
sent some of your sumpter-horses (aliquos de summariis vestris) 
in Sussex, since otherwise fish will not be able, without great 
difficulty, to be transmitted to you. Deign to signify to me, 
if you please, the assurance of your arrival in these Sussex 
parts, contrary to present arrangements (contra ordines), 
knowing for certain, that if it can anyhow be done, your 
arrival in these parts would be necessary. Upon the premises, 
and other matters, deign to signify your pleasure to me, if you 
please. May your excellency always fare well in the Lord." 

684. The abbess of Barking, a Benedictine nunnery in 

quid super hoc et aliis agendis yestris in episcopatu yestro, yestra yelit et sentiat discretio, 
michi si placet intimare dignemini, quouiam statim post compotum auditum, yeniam ad yos 
London, nisi prius de mandato yestro alibi yenire debeam. Gratia Dei omnia agenda 
yestra in Sussex rite procedunt et agontur, et ad hoc pro yiribus laboro, quoniam sdo 
quod illud optatis. Beneplacitum yestrum super predictis et aliis michi scribere digne- 
mini, yitam et incolumitatem yestram altissimus conseryet per tempora longa.'' 



BISHOP OP CHICH£8T£R. 67 

Essex, about this time, was Maud, a natural daughter of 
King John ; she petitions that some land in the bishop's' 
manor in Cacham, in W. Wittering parish, should be siu*- 
rendered to her kinsman, and S. de S. advises compliance. 
The poor men at Horton, who had given security for a debt 
of 40*. of W. de Brewus, are in trouble about it ; Horton was 
a manor in Beeding parish, receiving a quit-rent from South- 
wick, apparently now under the wardship of the bishop. 

S. de S, to B. de K (as in 668). — " You have informed me, 
by your letters, that the Lady Abbess de Berekinges has 
many times besought you, with entreaties, that you would 
show favour to a certain kinsman of hers, the wardship of 
whose land has devolved on you in your manor of Cacham. 
Wishing, however, fully to assure you about this land, I make 
known to your excellency, that there is not in the whole more 
than one ploughland there, and from that ploughland are 
deducted two dowers (de ipsa carucata detrahantur due dotes); 
the residue however of the land, namely, of the portion of the 
kinsman himself of the abbess I have put out to lease for a 
silver marc, so that, if you pleased, you might release that 
wardship to him, but with the reservation that the produce of 
this coming autumn should be given up to the use of him who 
has sown that land. Moreover, know, dearest lord, that Sir 
William Maubaut has sent his steward to Brambre for 40*., 
which Sir William de Brewus *^ had promised, and he there 
foimd pledges (invenit plegium de hominibus) of the men of 
Hortune who are in your wardship, that Sir William Maubaut, 
on a day appointed him, would come to satisfy him fully : on 
the day however appointed him, he did not come to redeem 
them (ad ipsos dehberandos), wherefore the baiMs (baiUivi) of 
Brembre seized the pledged goods of the said bail, nor could 
they have them quit untU satisfaction should be given him of 
the 40*.; but may it please you to consider the indemnity of 

^ This William de Braose^ who died 1290, was the son of John, and during his minority 
in ward mider Peter de Bivaulx, who, in 1234, made excuses for not bringing the boy to 
the court as bemg ill, and he was afterwards committed to Prince Richard, earl of 
Ck>niwall. Perhaps in the interval his Sussex estates were managed by Bishop Ralph de 
NevilL William Maybank was a witness to a charter of John de Braose in the beginning 
of the rdgn of Henry III (Dallaway's Rape of Bramber), and his fimiily, in 1324, held the 
manor of Tottington, extendmg into Southwick. Edmund Maubank appeared on behalf 
of Queen Isabella, in 1320-1, at the Court of the Biuliffs of Pevense. (Lew. Ch. f. 91 .) 



6S LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

the poor men, as they are under your wardship, upon the 
afore-mention^ demand; consult your discretion, if you 
please, lest the said poor men should incur loss, by reason of 
their lord ; for you are able, if you please, to satisfy this 
demand, and to reckon it to Sir William, in his rent (compu- 
tare in firma sua). Moreover, know, lord, that the same 
William does not permit your wheat of Hortune to be ground, 
although he may see that we have need of forage for the 
use of the oxen living there (licet videat quod nos ad opus 
boum ibidem esistencium de foragio negocium habeamus). I 
am unwilling too, lord, that the poor men shotild enter upon 
this payment, because I well know that the same William does 
this for no other reason than that he may discharge himself, 
and that the poor men should have the burden and incur the 
loss. Wherefore it is necessary for me that you should please 
to signify to me your advice upon this, if you please, in order 
to redeem the goods (averia) of the said men of Hortune. 
Concerning Master Reginald, your clerk, I inform you that he 
conducts himself in yoiir diocese as a man of good life and 
honest conversation (vir bone vita et honeste conversationis), 
and he diligently employs himself to preserve the rights and 
indemnities of the church, and your honour and advantage, as 
it becomes him. I have asked the men of Bum for 100*. in 
Aid (auxilio), which they owe annually, who all with one voice 
said that they would come to you to have a release from it 
(ad habendam inde deliberationem) ; wherefore I have been 
unwilling to distrain them on this account, before I had made 
this known to you. Let the writ of our lord the king be sent 
me, if you please, to search after Jordan, son of Balph de 
Drove, Simon Curtman, John, son of Ralph de Drove, William 
Baratt, who are your natives and fugitives. Upon these and 
other matters, deign to let me know your pleasure, since, by 
the grace of God, all your affairs in Sussex prosper, and, as is 
fitting, advance duly and orderly. Farewell." 

685. Master W. de Kaynsham expects to be dismissed from 
the bishop's service, and will not exert himself : the rent of a 
small garden in London to be lowered to a pound of pepper ; 
a desirable mortgage is likely to be offered at Westmill, 60 
acres of the land sown with wheat ; the trial between the 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 69 

bishop and the abbot of Hyde, near Wmchester, is coming on 
soon. Waltesr de Aston was then abbot, and the dispute was 
probably about the five hides of land in Esterbridge hundred, 
in Sussex, held by his abbey. 

S. de S. to B. de K (same as 668). — " Know, dearest lord, 
that I have spoken in London with Master William de 
Kaynesham, about his collecting your dues, which belong to 
you, in Sussex (de officiis vestris que vos contingunt in Sussex, 
per eum procurandis), by whose hint I learnt that he does not 
vigilantly employ himself in your business, because, as I 
believe, he tmnks shortly to be removed from your service^ 
wherefore it is necessary for you to hold opportune counsel 
about this. Moreover, I have had a conference with Sir John, 
canon of Dorekceaster, to lower the rent of the garden, which 
you bought from Nicholas at London (a Nicolao London), 
wherefore I hope that at my instance, and for the small value 
(/or a small consideratioUy pro parvo precio), you may be 
able to diminish the rent annually, by a payment henceforth 
every year of one pound of pepper, or cinnamon, or something 
of that sort. Your excellency ought also to know that it has 
been hinted to me by Thomas, your servant, at Westmuln, 
that Sir John de Rocheford, Knight, is ready to mortgage 
(pignori obUgare) for eight years, a ploughland (carucatam) of 
Ms land neighbouring your land of Westmuln, whereof 60 
acres have been sown with wheat, and for each acre 6*.^^ are 
offered him ready money (pre manibus). But of the residue 
(de residue) of the same ploughland, a hundred and four score 
acres are to be sown with oats and barley ; about that business, 
as well as the other aforesaid matters to be procured and to 
be completed for your honour and advantage, as your dis- 
cretion may feel and see to be fitting, may your holiness 
advise, informing me, if you please, of your will and pleasure 
in these matters, since I wiU show myself vigilant in all your 
affairs, to the best of my power. Know also, dearest lord, 
that a day has been appointed you before the justices (jus- 

^ This ploughland seems to have consisted of more acres than usual. In an extent of 
the land in Merse (co. Bucks), belonging to the abbey of Grestdgn, seized as alien in 
1294, the price of fields sown appears, for an acre sown with wheat, 3^., with peas and 
vetches, 1*., with oats, 1*. (de prato falcabili), hay meadow, 11#. (MSS. Add. 6164, f. 112, 
Br. Mus.) 



70 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

ticiarios) at Westminster, in 15 days from the feast of Saint 
Hilary, to hear the dispute which is between you and the Lord 
Abbot of Hyde. May your holiness always prosper in the Lord." 

686. Somebody must be sent to help at the audit, and then 
S. de S. will come to London to report. A Cistercian 
monk, from Bordesley, co. Worcester, has brought up lambs 
and sheep from the abbot, the shepherd to be left with them ; 
another proof of the dearth of Sussex shepherds. 

S. de S. to B, de N. (same as 671). — " As I have otherwise 
informed you, the time for auditing the accounts of your reeves 
(prepositis) in your diocese is at hand, and it behoves you that 
they should be audited quickly ; so that, if you please, most 
dear lord, be pleased to send into your diocese some one of your 
household (de familia vestra) to audit the account. You have 
moreover directed me to come to you in London within 15 
days after the feast of St. Michael. Wherefore I should 
wish most freely to audit the account first with some one of 
your household, so that, on my arrival, I might be able 
reasonably to answer about the proceeds of your diocese. 
Deign to let me know your good will, if you please, about the 
aforesaid. Know, moreover, lord, that on the Saturday next 
after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross {Sept. 14), there came 
to me a certain monk from Bordele, telling me that 40 lambs 
and two sheep (xl. agni et duo multones) had been sent to 
you from the abbot of Bordele, and were at a certain grange 
of the house of Waverle ; in consequence of which I asked 
the said monk to lend you his shepherd (bercarium suum), 
until I could procure another suitable, and this he willingly 
granted me. May your holiness always prosper in the Lord.'' 

687. The perambulation of the Broyle is delayed. S. de S. 
promises to leave £20 in London for the bishop's expenses, and 
money from the Fifteenth. The cash will be deposited at the 
Franciscan convent for the bishop, such establishments then 
acting as banks of deposit. Great expenses which had been 
going on in the bishop's house in London, had been checked 
by S. de Senliz. 

S, de S. toB, de N, {as in 668).—" Know, lord, that on the 
day of St. Hilary I received your letters iq London, in which 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 71 

was contained, that my presence in Sussex would be necessary 

to expedite and promote your affairs there {MS. imperfect) 

... I forwarded on the messenger to my father, who as is 

related to me, was detained by sickness St. Hilary, which 

messenger, by God's gift, will arrive on the Thursday or the 

Friday next alter the feast of St. Hilary, at to let me know 

more fiiUy about his condition. Upon that matter which your 
excellency signified to me, that without any waste of delay I 
should be present at the perambulation of the Chichester wood 
(bosco), I let your holiness know that the sheriff of Sussex, the 
knights and very many freeholders (libere tenentes), who had 
been chosen the adverse side, to make the perambu- 
lation, were in London on the octaves of the Epiphany, where 
I have had a conference with the greater part of tnem, without 
whose presence I should not be able to advance this perambu- 
lation that I should receive from my father, by my 

messenger, a certain and opportune command, and when the 
aforesaid sheriff and knights, who are bound to be present 
(interesse debent) at the perambulation, depart from London, 
know that I wiU journey into Sussex without waste of delay ; 
but before I leave London I will treat of many particulars about 
your affairs in Sussex with you, if you please, since about 
Easter, and not before, I expect to return from Sussex. About 
your having commanded me to leave £20 for your expenses in 
London, together with the money of your Fifteenth (cum de- 
naiio de quintadecima vestra), I acquaint your holiness that, 
either by borrowing or some other mode, I will deliver the 
sum of £20, together with £32 15*, h\d, from vour Fifteenth 
(de quintadecima vestra), to brother GUebert, the treasurer of 

the Hospital of the Friars {minor) which you may have 

ready by your arrival in London. Know also, lord, that when 
I came to London, I found heavy expenses in your dwelling 
(in hospitio vestro) in London, (on behalf of (pro) R. de 
Warewike, as I know, from being so told), wlach on my 
arrival I lessened. At the departure of this, there was not yet 

come to London yours from Sanwiz (Sandwich). Know 

this also, lord, that the presence of Master Reginald in Sussex 
was necessary to expedite and forward your affairs there. Upon 
the premises, and other matters, deign to inform me, if you 
please, what may be agreeable to your pleasure, as you shall see 
it expedient. May your hoUness always prosper in the Lord." 



72 LETTERS TO BALPH DE NEVILL, 

302. S. de S. sends 85 ells of cloth for the poor; cannot 
sell the old wine, as there is so much new on sale in Chichester, 
which seems to have been a place of considerable import for 
the wines from the south of France at this period. 

S. de S. to B. de N. {as in 671).—" Know, lord, that William 
de St. John is not in these Sussex parts, so that I cannot at 
present complete the business which you enjoined me ; but as 
soon as he shall be come into these Sussex parts, I will strive 
with all my might to expedite and complete it, as I shall see it 
result to your honour. I send you fourscore and five ells of 
cloth, bought for the use of the poor, and to be distributed. I 
am not able to sell for yoiu* advantage the . wine which is in 
your cellar in Chichester, on account of the too great abundance 
of new wine which there is in the town of Chichester. Know 
also, lord, that a certain burgess of Chichester holds one croft, 
which belongs to the garden granted to you by the Lord King, 
for which he pays every year 11 shiUings, which (quos) the 
sheriff of Sussex exacts (exigit) from hun. Wherefore since 
the said land belongs to the said garden, and has been of old 
time subtracted from it, about the aforesaid rent be pleased to 
signify your advice to me. In your manor of Selesey I am 
marUng effectually, so that, on the departure of this, five acres 
have been marled. Please to intimate to me your will upon the 
premises and other matters, as I will show myself vigilant and 
watchful, to the utmost of my strength, about taking care of 
and completing your business. May your excellency prosper 
in the Lord." 

303. The dispute about rights of conunon with the abbot 
of Seez has been referred to in No. 674 ; but the agreement 
supposed to have been come to appears now broken off, and 
the compulsion of a distress is recommended. 

" To his Beverend Lord Balph, by the grace of God Bishop 
of Chichester^ Chancellor of our Lord the King, lus own Simon 
de Senhs, greeting in the Lord. — ^Your excellency must know, 
that on the Thursday next after I left you, I came to the 
Broyle (ad bruill) with good and discreet men, to meet the 
abbot of Seez, as was pre-arranged in your presence. But he 
contradicted the convention made before you, asserting that 
no mention had been made in your presence of the Great Land 
(de Magna Landa), but only of White Land (de Alba Landa), 



BISHOP OF CHICHESTER. 73 

which only contains (tenet) 3 or 4 acres at most. You will, 
however, if you please, easily call to mind, that we made the 
greatest eflFort before you about Great Land, namely, that he 
should quitclaim to you both the Great Land and the White 
Land at the same time, so that he should remain in peaceable 
possession of his crofts, and the land of his wood whicn he had 
sold. It is advisable, therefore, as it seems to me, for you to 
make some distress in some mode, that he may the quicker 
return to your will. But about his crofts which are sown, first 
deign to command me, whether I ought to allow him to carry 
oflF his crops. Be pleased to signify to me, if you please, your 
pleasure upon these and other matters. Farewell. ' 

Besides the numerous letters written by S. de St. Liz, there 
are a few letters to the bishop-chancellor from others. It 
does not appear for whom the favour is asked, mentioned in the 
following letter from his kinsman, G. de Nevill, who was 
chamberiain to the justiciary Hubert de Burgh. 

308. " To the venerable Father in Christ and Reverend Lord^ 

and if it so please ^ kinsmany Balphy by the grace of God Bishop 

of Chichester, his own in aU things, G. de Nevill, chamberlain, 

eternal greeting in the Lord. — I beseech your paternity earnestly, 

that for the sake of yourself, and at my entreaties, you will 

deign so kindly to Usten to the entreaties which the Lord 

Richard, brother of the Lord King, and the Lord Earl of 

\ Sarum, pour forth to you, on behalf of him, who has carried 

\ himself so faithfully in the service of the Lord King, and of 

Vhe lord his brother in Gascony, that it may result to your 

konour and advantage. Farewell in Christ." 

306. Ademand on the bishop-chancellor for the immediate pay- 
ment of a small debt, seems, though respectful, rather summary. 

" To the venerable man, his Lord and Father in Christ, Ralph, 
by the grace of God, Bishop of Chichester, his clerk, Ralph de 
Tiboutot, greeting, and his whole self favourably disposed in 
all things. — ^I beseech your paternity to send me, by the bearer 
of this, 20 shillings, which, by your favour, you owe me from the 
term of St. John. May your paternity prosper in the Lord.'*^® 

'^ 306. " Viro venerabili domino suo et patri in Christo Radulpho Dd gratiA Cicestrensi 
episcopo suns clericus Radulplius de Tiboutot salutem, et se totum in omnibus fayorabHem. 
patemitati vestre supplico, ut mibi per latorem presencium mittatis xx. solidos, quos vestri 
gratia mihi debetis da termino S. Johannis. Valeat patemitas vestra in Domino.'' 



74 LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL, 

In 428, K. Henry III commands Bishop Ralph, his chan- 
cellor, and Simon de Segrave, to give (feciatis habere scutagia) 
Peter de Bras the scutages of his knight*s fees, held in capite 
while he is serving with the army in Poictou. This is dated 
14th September, 1230. 

278. We have seen enough instances of Simon de Senliz's 
keen sense of his master's interests, and how the abbot of 
Seez, in No. 303, drew back from a compromise, protesting 
that the terms had not been fairly explained to him. The 
foflowing letter, from Richard Wethershed, recently elected 
Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1228, is of the same nature, 
and seems written with an indignant sense of having narrowly 
escaped from an attempted fraud. 

" Michardy by the grace of God, elect of Canterbury, to his 
venerable brother Balph, by the same grace, Bishop of Chichester , 
Chancellor of the Lord King, greeting in the Lord. — ^We sup- 
pose you to bear in memory that, when you lately held a con- 
ference with us, you suggested to us that there was a dispute 
between our men of Pageham and yom^, about certain boun- 
daries, asserting that our men would by no means be content 
with the ancient bomidaries ; on accomit of which, thinking 
some small matter was comprised under the name of boun- 
daries, as a ditch, or such like, we conceded that those 
boundaries should be defined by royal command (per manda- 
tum regium declarari) ; but because we have since learnt, by 
our bailiflFs (baillivos) for certain that the matter is not small, 
but rather great, in peaceful possession of which the church 
of Canterbury has stood for a hundred years and more, 1 
cannot, without our heavy loss, endure that the aforesaid 
business should proceed for the present. Since, therefore, as 
we have heard, you will have obtained the writ of the Lord 
King upon this to the sheriff of Sussex, to make the aforesaid 
perambulation by lawful men, we affectionately beseech your 
brotherhood, that you wiU give {orders) to the said sheriff, by 
your letters and commands, that he should forbear to use the 
said writ, until we shall have had a conference upon this, 
which will be shortly, by the Lord's permission. But we 
rely upon you that, inasmuch as we would not attempt any- 
thing to the prejudice of your right, so also you are unwilling 
to do anything which may redound to our damage and dis- 



BI8H0P OP CHICHESTER. 75 

\ grace or to that of otir church. Farewell ; and upon this 

li matter write back your will to us/' 

'i 487. This letter brings forward a new crusader, the bishop's 

carpenter having assumed the cross, and left his service, while 
employed at Chichester cathedral. The carpenter seems, by 
the terms used, to have been retained under some contract for 
a limited time or work, and a substitute was therefore presented 
by him. Simon was dean from 1220 to, perhaps, 1230. 

" To the veneraJde Lord and dearest Father in Christy Ralphs 
by the grace of God Bishop of Chichester^ Chancellor of the 
Lord King, his ever devoted S(^»^o«), dean, and the chapter 

I of the same church, with due obedience of devoted submission. 

— ^Your carpenter of Chichester church, approaching us mider 
a vow signed vrith the cross, wishing to begin his journey 
(devotus carpentarius vester ecclesie Cicestreusis crucesignatus 
volens iter suum arripere), has presented to us a certain fit and 
competent young man (juveuem), of whom we entertain sure 
hope that he will sufficiently supply the business, in order that 
he, in the absence of the aforesaid crusader (crucesignati), may 
be able to replace him in his duties in the said church, in like 
manner as he was bound (sicut ipse tenebatur), and since we 
are unwilling to meddle with this manner of business without 
your will and assent, we send the same crusader to you, de- 
voutly supplicating your paternity, that if you are wiUing to 
admit the said young man, you will inform us, if you please, 
of your pleasure on this matter, by letter to us by means of the 
same crusader. May your serenity always prosper in Christ." 

282. The Precentor of Chichester, if he were the writer of 
the following manly letter, appears to have been Ervisius de 
Tywa, from 1219 to 1239. He acted in June, 1239, as one 
of the arbitrators in a dispute between Albert, prior of Lewes, 
and Nicholas, vicar of Patcham. (Lew. Ch. f. 112.) It is 
remarkable that no other letter in the collection makes any 
appeal to the bishop's spiritual feelings, except by the customary 
set phrases of compliment. The tone of the letter implies that 
the bishop had not been a very frequent attendant at the 
cathedral of Chichester while chancellor. 

" To his Reverend Lord and Father in Christ, Balphy hy 



76 



LETTERS TO RALPH DE NEVILL. 



Divine clemency Bishop of Chichester ^ his clerk W(illiam) 
Precentor (cantor) of Chichester, eternal greeting, and both 
devoted and due reverence. — ^Although the common advantage 
of the kingdom is to be preferred before the private advantage 
of individuals, yet since the glorious solemnity of the Passion 
and Resurrection is at hand, in which it is no less honorable 
than laudable for the cathedral church to be adorned with its 
own prelate (suo decorari antistite), and for sheep to rejoice in 
their own shepherd, I beseech you, with all the devotion in my 
power, that, if it can in any way be done without offence to the 
Lord KiQg, you will be pleased to visit your church, and cele- 
brate the paschal services. Both the clergy and the people 
would congratulate indeed your presence, and I hope that, for 
the space of three days at least, it would be agreeable to your 
paternity to attend to the divine mysteries iq your church of 
Chichester, laying aside in the meanwhile the anxieties and 
cares of the court, which, incessantly harassing you, scarcely 
permit the least, if any, period of tranquillity by day or night. 
Despising in all your business the threats of men, may you 
place your hope and trust in Him, who has the power to cast 
both body and soul rato hell (in gehennam) ; and if it should 
perchance happen that you do not come into these parts, I im- 
plore the kindness of your paternity, that you will be pleased 
to make known to me, according to your opportunity, a day and 
place after Easter, or within it, where I may enjoy a much de- 
sired conference with you, for I have many thmgs to consult 
with you upon, in my business and secrets. May your pater- 
nity prosper in the Lord." 







INDEX TO 


LETTERS. 






No. 383 at p 


.38 


No. 679 at p 


.52 


No. 685 at p 


.68 


384-5 „ 


39 


673 


tt 


53 


686 „ 


70 


386 „ 


41 


674 


»» 


56 


687 „ 


70 


662 „ 


42 


675 


19 


58 


302 „ 


72 


304 „ 


42 


676 


tt 


60 


303 „ 


72 


770 „ 


44 


677 


tf 


61 


308 „ 


73 


667-8,, 


45 


680 


11 


61 


306 „ 


73 


669 „ 


47 


682 


ft 


63 


428 „ 


74 


670 „ 


48 


681 


11 


65 


278 „ 


74 


671 „ 


49 


683 


11 


66 


487 „ 


75 


672 at p 


51 


684 


It 


66 


282 „ 


75 



Erratum. — P. 48, 1. 4, for Hangttorif read Hanymett, 



NOTICES CONNECTED WITH A RECENT EXCAVATION 

IN 

THE COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 
BY THE REV. M. A. TIERNEY, F.R.S., F.S.A., 

AHD COKKKSPOHSXXO MBMBBft OV THB lOCIBTT OV AVTIOUAmUl OV SCOTLAMO. 
(kEAO at THB GBNXRAL MEBTIMO AT A&UNDBL, AUGUST 9, 1849.) 



The following Notes of an excavation lately made in the 
Chapel belonging to the College of the Holy Trinity, at 
Arundel, were intended originally to form a few supple- 
mentary pages to my printed account of that foundation. 
My object in writing them was simply to record the little 
additional information which I had obtained, and to distribute 
it, in a printed form, among such of my friends or acquaint- 
ances as might chance to possess the volumes : but some 
members of the Society have since thought that the Notices, 
which I then penned, might possibly possess some slight 
degree of iuterest on the present occasion ; and, as they have 
not yet been committed to the press, I have resolved to defer 
to this opruion, and read them, with a short iutroductory 
sketch, as one of the papers of the day. One recommenda- 
tion they will unquestionably possess, and that is their brevity. 
If an apology be wanting for their introduction, I can only 
plead the partiality, or the enthusiasm, of those friends who 
have induced me to inflict them on the meeting. 

The foundation, in 1380, of the College of the Holy Trinity, 
at Arundel, and of the magnificent chapel which belonged to 
it, is no doubt femiliar to all the members of the Society. At 
the period of the dissolution of the monastic and other reli- 
gious establishments of the country, the college, of course, 
shared the fate of its sister institutions ; but a deed of con- 
veyance, obtained upon the payment of one thousand marks, 
and an annual rent of sixteen guineas to the crown, secured 
its possession to the family of the original founder ; and the 



78 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 



college, with its lands and manors, the chi^l and all its ap- 
purtenances, became the private property of the Earls of 
Anmdel.^ The collie was now dismimtled and unroofed ; 
but the chapel, prot^ted by its peculiar character and des- 
tmation, was more fortunate. From the period of its foun- 
dation, it had been used as the burial-place of the family ; 
and, for this reason, was not unnaturally spared in the de- 
struction which involved the neighbouring biuldings. 

It was on December 26th, 1544, that the patent convey- 
ing the college and its property to Henry Fitzalan, Earl of 
Arundel, was issued by the crown ; on February 24th, 1580, 
that nobleman expired ; and, a few days later, was interred 
among his ancestors in the chapel. His death closed the line 
of the Fitzalans ; but the Howards, who, by the marriage of 
Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, with one of the daughters of the 
late earl, had succeeded to the honours and property of the 
earldom, continued to use the chapel as their sepulchral rest- 
ing-place ; and two small vaults, sunk, in 1624, ia the Chapel 
of Our Lady, and having their respective entrances on the north 
and south sides of the tomb (I) of John Fitzalan, which 




UNDEBOROUND PLAN. 

A| Stone Coffin. F, Tomb of Earl Wflliam, ob. 1488. 

B, Vault, now destroyed. G, Tomb of Earl Thomas, ob. 1415. 

C, Stone Coffin. H, Tomb of Earl John, ob. 1435. 
E, Tomb of Earls Thomas I, Tomb of Earl John, ob. 1421. 

and William, ob. 1524-35. K, Entrance from sacristy, now stopped up. 

» Pat. 36 Henry VIII, p. 21, m. 49, apud Hist, of Arundel, 612. 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 79 

stands in the middle of that chantry, became henceforth the 
burial-place of this family. But a period of more than two 
centuries had already filled these vaidts with remains, when it 
was thought advisable to construct another and if possible a 
larger repository, for the interment of the members of the 
house. With this view, the space under the sanctuary and 
altar of the college chapel, extending fi-om the foot of the 
central tomb (G) of Thomas, Earl of Axundel, and Beatrix, his 
countess, to the great east window, and comprising the whole 
width of the area, was selected, and, at the beginning of 
February, 1847, those works were commenced, which led to 
the fdlowing discoveries. 

SoMrday, February 6. — ^The workmen employed in opening 
the ground, came upon an interment apparently of a date 
contemporary with the erection of the chapel itself. It was 
the skeleton of a man of more than six feet in height, and, 
judging fi-om the size of the bones, of unusual power. It lay 
at a depth of about three feet firom the surface, under the 
second step (A) leading to the altar ; having its head against 
an old foimdation wall which crosses the sanctuary at the foot 
of the tomb (G) of Earl Thomas ; and with its left side about 
five feet fi-om the face of the wall that supports the canopy 
erected over the tomb (E) of Thomas and WiUiam, Earls of 
Arundel, on the north side of the chapel. The receptacle pre- 
pared for the body was remarkable. In form and dimensions 
it bore the appearance of a stone coflBn ; but it was without 
a bottom; the foot and sides, as far as the shoulders, were 
constructed of small cut blocks of Caen stone, which, fi'om 
their shape, as well as firom the rich diapering still visible 
upon some of them, had evidently formed portions of the old 
Priory Church ; while the upper part was completed by two 
larger blocks of the same material, united just at the crown 
of the skull, and hollowed out, so as exactly to receive the 
head. This upper part was covered by another flatter stone, 
in such manner as to form a perfect chamber for the head ; 
but below there was no sign of covering of any sort. The 
trunk and limbs had evidently been left unprotected, and the 
earth filled in upon them. Among the remains was found the 
trowel or float, as it is technically called, which had been used 
by the mason in plastering the stones. The handle was broken 



80 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 



off — an indication that its work was done, and that it was not 
again to be employed ; but, in fonn and size, the implement 
corresponded exactly with the tool of the present day, from 
which, in fact, it differed solely in the coarseness and thick- 
ness of the material. The accompanying woodcut (Fig. 1) 
will convey an accurate notion of the coffin, as it appeared 
when first opened. The coffin itself, however, has been pre- 
served, and may be seen in the small chapel at the back of the 
highdlar. 




Tuesday, February 9. — ^The space between the coffin or cyst, 
which I have just mentioned, and the canopy erected over the 
tomb of Earls Thomas and William, on the north side of the 
sanctuary, was occupied by the vault (B), or a portion of it, 
described in pp. 634, 635 of my history. In pursuance of the 
plan on which the works were proceeding, this vault was to 
be thrown into the larger one, now in course of construction. 
Its walls, therefore, were taken down, and the four coffins of 
Philip Howard, his wife, and his two sons, known to be con- 
tained in it, were removed, when we unexpectedly discovered a 
leaden case, fitting close to a body which had been interred in 
it, and, in appearance, much resembling a mummy-case (Fig. 2). 
An inscription, rudely scratched with the point of some sharp 
instrument across the lower part, over the legs, announced it 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 81 

to be the coflBn of "Mary, Countes of Arundel, 1557, 20 
October," second wife of Henry Fitzalan, last Earl of Arundel of 
that name. It was lying close to the wall, on the south side 




of the vault, with the feet immediately under the north-west 
angle of the altar, and a large quantity of loose earth carefully 
thrown over it. How, or at what precise period, it came to be 
placed here, can only be matter of conjecture. It is certain, 
as we know from Strype, that the lady whose body it contains, 
and who died at Bath Place, afterwards called Arundel House, 
in the Strand, was buried originally in the church of St. 
Clement Danes, in London -^ but the daughter of her husband 
by his first marriage, whose name, like her own, was Mary, 
and who, having espoused the Duke of Norfolk, had become 

2 "On the same day/' (October 21, 1557) "died the Countess of Arundel, at Bath 
Place, in St. Clement's parish, without Temple Bar. 

" On the 26th was a goodly hearse set up for her in the said parish church, with five 
principals, eight bannerols, &c. On the 27th she was brought to church, the bishop of 
London, Paul's choir, and the clerks of London going before. Then came the corpse, with 
five banners of arms borne. Then came four heralds in their coats of arms, and bare four 
banners of images at the four comers. And then came the chief mourners, my Lady of 
Worcester, Lady Lumley, Lady North, and Lady Saint Leger. Then came a hundred 
mourners of men, and, after, as many ladies and gentlewomen, all in black ; besides a great 
many poor women in black and rails, and four-and-twenty poor men, and many of her 
servants, in black, bearing of torch lights. On the next day, being the 28th, was the mass 
of Requiem sung, and a sermon preached, and, after, her grace was buried ; and all her 
officers, with white staves in their hands, and all the heralds waiting about her in then: 
coat-armour. The lord abbot of Westminster was the preacher, and the bishop of London 
simg the mass. A second mass was sung by another bishop ; and a third by another 
priest. And after, all departed to my lord's place to dinner." (Strype, Memorials, iii, 385.) 

III. 6 



82 COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 

the mother of him from whom the future earls of Arundel de- 
scended, had been interred in the same place only in the pre- 
ceding month ;^ and it is known, that for the body of this latter 
lady a search was afterwards ordered to be made, with a view 
to its removal to Arundel.* Now, it is by no meaiis impro- j 

bable that the search in question was made ; that this case or j 

coffin was then found ; and that Mary, Countess of Arundel, 
who died in 1557, being mistaken for Mary, mother of the 
Earl of Arundel, who also died in 1557, was brought here on 
that occasion. Certain it is that the latter, Mary, Duchess of 
Norfolk, is not here. 

Wednesday, February 10. — Another stone coffin or cyst was 
discovered, situate at the south end of the altar ; its left side, 
in fact, forming part of the foundation of the altar in that spot, 
and its foot resting against the reredos (see C in the plan) . Like 
the one already mentioned, it was constructed with stones, 
evidently taken from the remains of the ancient church ; but 
there was no covering to the upper part ; the stones were not 
hollowed out to receive the head ; and the interior, instead of 
being left bare, as in the preceding instance, was lined through- 
out with a thick coating of very hard cement. From the pre- 
sence of several very large nails, it was evident that the body 
had originally been inclosed in a wooden shell. The skeleton, 
which was that of a man above the middle size, was perfect. 
The arms were folded, and across the waist was a Une of 
greenish earth, impregnated apparently with particles of de- 
composed brass. Close to the left hip were found two rings, 
of about an inch and a half each in diameter ; one an ordinary 
ring, of iron ; the other a buckle-riny, with the tongue still re- 
maining, of brass ; while several pieces of coarse woollen cloth 

3 History of Arundel, 358, note ; and Strype, Mem. iii, 383. 

"* By his will, dated at Dover, Sept. 3, 1641, Thomas, Earl of Arundel, the grandson of r 

this lady, fixes the place of his own interment at Arundel ; orders " a figure of marhle," 
with a '* short latine epitaph," to he erected to the memoiy of his eldest son ; and ex- 
presses a wish that " an only sister, who is buried there, may have some memory of her 
great virtue." Then comes the following passage: ^* And if my grandmother of 
NordfoWs body could bee found in St, Clement* 8 churchy I desire it might bee caryed to 
Jrundellf and there have some memory of her: for I desire persons of our feunily, beeing 
of so eminent virtues as these three were, and dyed all about the age of ffifteene, might 
have record left worthy of them." (MS. Harl. 6272, fol. 31.) 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 



83 



bore testimony to the fact of the body having been interred in 
a dress of that material. The plasterer's trowel, broken pre- 
cisely as in the former instance, had been thrown in upon the 
remains, and was found among the earth. 

The accompanying engraving (Fig. 3) exhibits some of the 
stones which formed this coflBn, which, when put together, and 




restored to the relative positions which they originally occupied, 
prove to have been the jamb, or part of the jamb, of one of the 
windows of the ancient church. Of that edifice, which was 
pulled down when the chapel, with the present chm-ch, was 
erected, in 1380, the age, though suspected, has been hitherto 
unknown ; but by the aid of this interesting relic, I think we 
may now fix its date with tolerable certainty. The window 
was round-headed ; the large internal splay, and the plain deep 
torus moulding of the external face, are both characteristic of 
the early Norman age ; and there can be little doubt, therefore. 



84 COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 

that the building owed its erection either to Roger Mont- 
gomery, first earl of Arundel, or to one of his immediate 
successors. From the bevelling of the springing-stone, it ap- 
pears that the arch of the window was a semicircle, having a 
radius of sixteen inches, and thus giving to the perforation a 
total width of two feet eight inches. 

Who may have been the persons entombed in these coflBns 
is a matter of speculation, which, however interesting in itself, 
is one, imfortunately, which we have no means of satisfactorily 
determining. The fact, however, that the coffins were formed 
of stones obtained from the ancient church, shows that the 
interments must have taken place at the earliest period after 
the foundation, perhaps even during the erection, of the chapel, 
when the materials of the former building were still at hand ; 
while the particular spot in which they were found — one 
under the steps of the sanctuary, and the other at the end of 
the altar — ^naturally suggests the inference that they were 
ecclesiastics. But they could scarcely have belonged to the 
new college ; for the brethren would certainly not be buried 
nearer to the altar than the masters, and the first three masters, 
Ertham, White, and Colmord, have their graves at the en- 
trance of the chapel, leading from the church. Could they, 
then, have been members of the dissolved priory ? Unques- 
tionably, we know, that when Loxley, the escheator, was sent 
down by the king, to inquire into the propriety of dissolving 
the priory, and secularizing its inmates, there were two monks, 
Mercer, the prior, and another whose name has not reached 
us, still surviving. Of the period of their death we have no 
knowledge ; but that they may have been the tenants of the 
coffins in question is not impossible ; and the line of earth, 
indicative of a belt or girdle, with the woollen cloth which I 
have mentioned as found in one of the coffins, will scarcely 
fail to be deemed, in some degi'ee, confirmatory of this sug- 
gestion. 

Saturday, February 13. — ^We opened the vault under the 
canopy and tomb (E) of Earls Thomas and WiUiam ; and, to 
our surprise, found within it the body of Henry Fitzalan, 
whose monument is on the opposite side of the chapel. It is 
inclosed in a leaden case, precisely similar to that which I 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 85 

have just described as containing the body of his second wife, 
Mary, Countess of Arundel, and lies close to the wall of the 
vault, on the side nearest to the altar. Across the breast is 
the inscription 



^ENFi3airN 

X579 

scratched, as in the preceding case, with the point of some 
sharp instrument. 

On the left of this are two other bodies : that on the opposite 
or north side of the vault has been embalmed, and is without any 
inscription, or visible mark, whereby to identify it ; the other, 
which lies in the middle, between the last two, is the body of 
Henry, Lord Stafford, the brother of Mary, who married 
William Howard, fifth son of Thomas, Earl of Arundel, and 
afterwards Lord Stafford. Of the coffin no vestiges remain ; 
but on the body, which is reduced to a dry impalpable powder, 
lies an engraved plate, bearing the following inscription : 

" Hie situm est corpus Henrici Domini Stafford, 
Baro°^' de Stafford, qui, quindeci annoru, deeem 
Mensiu, sex diem spatio pie emenso, placide in 
Domino obdormivit, Augpisti 4^°' Anno Dni 1637.^' 

On the death of this lord, the barony legally devolved on 
his third cousin, Roger Stafford, the nephew of his great 
grandfather, and the son of Richard Stafford, by Mary, 
daughter of John Corbet, of Cowlesmore, in Shropshire. The 
marriage of Richard seems to have been unfortunate, and, in 
all probabihty, gave offence to the family. Of his two chil- 
dren, the fruits of this marriage, Jane, the daughter, became 
the wife of a joiner ; and, in 1637, when the barony devolved 
on her brother, had a son living at Newport, in Shropshire, 
where he was following the humble craft of a cobbler. Roger 
himself was bred in penury ; is thought to have found a 
shelter, if not a home, beneath the roof of a person named 
Floyde, a servant of his maternal uncle ; and, either to con- 
ceal the disgrace of his family, or to blunt the recollection of 
his own misfortunes, assumed, during his early life, the name 



86 COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 

of his benefactor. On the demise of his cousin, however, he 
laid aside his incognito y and petitioned parliament as the repre- 
sentative of his family, and the heir to the vacant barony. 
But the king interposed to prevent his suit. On the ground 
of his poverty, and of his consequent inability to support the 
dignity, Charles required him to surrender his claims to the 
barony ; and Ex)ger, in obedience to the royal will, was at 
length (Dec. 7, 1639) induced to sign a deed, rehnquishing 
his title to the honours of his ancestors, and placing them at 
the absolute disposal of the crown. In the following year, 
William Howard and his wife, Mary, the sister of Henry Lord 
Stafford, were created Baron and Baroness Stafford. 

I may take this opportunity to add, that William Mathias, 
the great-grandson of these parties, who succeeded his father, 
William Stafford Howard, as third Earl of Stafford, in 1734, 
and died in 1751, is buried in the small vault, which extends 
along the front of the tomb of William Earl of Arundel, under 
the canopy on the south side of the chapel, where his coffin- 
plate still exists, with the following inscription engraved 
upon it : 

" The Right Hon"*- 

WILLIAM MATTHIAS, 

Earl of Stafford, 

Died Feb. 28, 1750-1, 

Aged 31 years." 

Under the head of Lord Stafford is just visible the skull of 
another body. This and the embalmed one, already mentioned, 
are probably the bodies of Earls Thomeis and William, to 
whom, on the authority of the inscribed brass affixed to it by 
Lord Lumley, the monument over this vault is beheved to 
have been erected. There is, however, one point connected 
with the tomb which deserves to be noticed. I have said that 
we were surprised to discover in it the body of Henry, the last 
earl of the Fitzalan line. In fact. Lord Lumley, the son-in-law 
and executor of that nobleman, who had been present at his 
funeral, and afterwards erected the monument which, on the 
south side of the chapel, still records his name and commemo- 
rates his virtues, not only says, in the inscription placed on 
that monument, that his remains were interred beneath it (hic 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 87 

suBTER sita sunt ossa), but also on the brass, which, eighteen 
years later, he affixed to the monument on the north side, where 
the body was actually found, describes the vault, which is 
covered by this monument, as containing only the remains of 
Thomas and William, and speaks of those of Henry merely as 
" entombed in this church''^ Yet, that he himself deposited 
the body in the place where it was discovered can hardly be 
doubted. An examination of the ground beneath the mural 
tablet, on the south side, proves that it never could have been 
interred there ; and we can only, therefore, regard this as one 
proof, at least, that monumental inscriptions are not always to 
be implicitly relied on. I might perhaps mention another in- 
stance of inaccuracy, connected with this very matter. In the 
inscription, to which I have already referred, on the south side 
of the altar. Lord Lumley tells us that his father-in-law. Earl 
Henry, died on the twenty-f/th of February. Yet, on the 
twenty-fourth, Lord Lumley himself, as heir to the deceased 
earl, under an entail created in 1570, actually signed a deed, 
conveying his interest in the castle and earldom of Arundel to 
Philip Howard. This deed is still in existence, and, as 1 have 
elsewhere remarked, is confirmed, as to the matter of the date, 
by a MS. life of the earl, written by one of his chaplains, and 
still preserved in the British Museum, which tells us that he 
died on the twenty-fourth, the day on which the deed was 
signed.^ 

There is another object, which, before I conclude this paper, 
deserves to be noticed. It is the lower half of a beautiful 
statuette of Our Lady, which was found imbedded in the 
earth and rubbish, thrown in when the chapel was erected, 
and must have lain there for considerably more than four 
centuries and a half. It is formed of Caen stone, beautifully 
cut ; the folds of the robe descend with great elegance to the 
feet, while the freshness of the gilding, the exquisite depth and 
brightness of the blue dress, and the brilliancy of the snTall 
red slippers, still remain, to show how feeble are the efforts of 
time, and damp, and wasting decay against the durability of 



The inscription is printed in the History of Arundel, p. 628. 
King's MSS., 17, A. ix. 



88 



COLLEGE CHAPEL AT ARUNDEL. 



mediaeval art. The accompanying woodcut will convey some 
notion of the grace of this beautifiil and interesting relic. It 
is unfortunate that the bust and head could nowhere be 
found. 



\ 




X 



89 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 
BY WILLIAM DURRANT COOPER, F.S.A. 

(read at BRIGHTON, DSCBMBER, 1849.) 



I GIVE a fall and corrected Pedigree of the Lewknors, 
who, from the time of Edward I to the days of Philip and 
Mary, occupied a very high position among the families of 
Sussex. They were the representatives of the Bodyams, the 
Wardeuxs, the Dallyngnidges,^ the Bardolphs, the Folyotts, 
the Louches, the Husseys, and the Camoys,^ and through 
these last, of the Trego? and the Radmylles ; whilst they have 
been connected by marriage with the De la Warres, the Sack- 
villes, the Pelhams, the Pellatts, the Culpepers, the Gorings, 
the Audleys, the NeviUes, the Finches, the Mays, the Stapleys, 
and the Peacheys, of whom Lord Selsey is the head, and a 
large number of the olden landed proprietors of Sussex. They 
were many times sheriffs, and various members of the family 
represented the shire, Chichester, Shoreham, Horsham, and 
East Grinstead, in ParUament. They fought and bled at 
Tewkesbury and Bosworth ; and for the part which Edward 
Lewknor, who had been groom-porter to Edward VI and 
Queen Mary, afterwards took against that Queen, he was 
conveyed to the Guildhall, 15th June, 1556, and being cast 
to suffer death, w£is taken to the Tower; he died, however, 
before the execution of his sentence, and was buried in the 
Tower on 7th September. Elizabeth was not unmindful of 
his services, and one of the first acts of parliament intro- 
duced in her time was on 15th March, 1558, for the resti- 
tution in blood of his son Edward Lewknor, and three of his 

^ The persons appomted for Sussex, 33 Edw. Ill, 1351, (Rym. Foed. voL iii, p. 456), 
to take care of the kingdom during the king's absence, were, Thomas de Brewose, John de 
Boun of Midhurst, Thomas de Camoyst Andrew Peverel, Henry Tregortz, Henry Husect 
Robert Halshamf Walter Colpeper, Roger Dalyngrudget and John Begeberry. 



90 PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 

brothers, and six sisters. Another, Thomas Lewknor, with 
many others,^ was suspected, by Richard Curteis, Bishop 
of Chichester, 1576, of being a papist, and his citation for 
examination, on 24th March, 1576, was one of the charges 
of over-zeal made against that prelate, and against which, 
on the petition of Sir Thomas Pahner, sen., Knt., Richard 
Ernley, Esq., Thomas Lewknor, Esq., and others, in 1577, 
the bishop had to defend himself. (Strype's Annals, vol. ii, 
pt. 2, pp. 22 and 116.) 

The importance which this family (now passed away) held 
in the county, induced me from time to time to look into 
their pedigree, and I found so many errors and omissions, 
that by degrees I filled up MS. pedigree with notes. Indeed 
I found not only that names were inserted without authority, 
but that all canonical rules had been set on one side by the 
persons, who had compiled the printed pedigrees. Not only 
were father and son made own brothers, and a daughter-in- 
law made to many her husband's father, but one unfortunate 
bachelor was made to marry his own aXmt. 

The foundation of the pedigree printed by Dallaway and 
Beriy is the Harl. MS., No. 1406, which is confessedly a 
hasty and bad copy of the visitation of 1634. The more cor- 
rect copy of that visitation, of which I have availed myself 
is Harl. MS., No. 1562, and that is the basis of the pedigree 
now printed ; it has, however, been compared with the evidence 
given on the Camoys peerage, and with another copy of the 
pedigree, Harl. MS., No. 6164. I have consisted the 
Battle Abbey Records, Strype, Machin, Rymer, Madox, 

2 The names returned by the bishop as dted (Strype's Annals) were— 

Sir Thomas Pahner the elder, Knt. Jasper Gunter, Gent. 

Wm. Shelly, of Michelgrove, Esq. John Navye, of Racton, Yeoman. 

Rich.Shelly,lateofWorminghurst,E8q. John Bickley, Gent. 

Thomas Lewknor, of Selsey, Esq. John Riman, Gent. 

Will. Dawtry, of Moor, Esq. One Hare, of Mr. Carell's House. 

Rich. Ernley, Esq. Scot, of Iden. 

Jefl&rey Pole. One Tichbom, of Durford, Gent. 

Edw. Gage, of Bentley, Esq. Cryer, Parson of Westmeston. 

John Gage, of Pirles, Esq. Gray, Parson of Withiam. 

Thos. Gage, of Pirles, Esq. The Curate of Shipley. 

Edw. Gage, of Pirles, Esq. John Taylor, Parson, and 

John Shelley of Patcham, Esq. Doctor Bayley, 

John Gosford, of Stansted Lodge, Gent. With others. 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 91 

Cotton's Bodyam, and other sources; and I have to ac- 
knowledge the ready and valuable aid of Sir Charles G. Young, 
Garter, of T. W. King, Esq., York Herald, and Wm.Courthope, 
Esq., Rouge-Croix, in clearing up doubts and difficulties. 

I have not, however, printed the first two descents as 
given in the Harl. MS., No. 6164, believing, with Sir Charles 
Young, the descent in the MS. 1562 to be the most correct 
and probable. In MS. 6164, the grandfather of Sir Roger 
Lewknor, who married the Bardolph, is said to be Nicholas 
Lewknor, a witness to a charter, 50 Hen. HI ; and the father 
of Sir Roger is made Sir Jeffery Lewknor, one of the justices 
in Eyre, who is made by Dallaway a brother of Sir Roger and 
son of Thomas ; but there is no authority for having a son 
Jeffery, or for the connection of that Geoffiy Lewknor with 
the Sussex family. There were other families of Ihe same 
name, for there was a Margeret de Lucenor, Abbess of 
Shaftesbury (Hutchins' Dorsetshire, vol. ii, p. 17); a Galfridus 
de Leukenore in 49 Hen. HI (Mon. Angl., vol. ii, p. 330) ; a 
Nicholas de Leukenore in 52 Hen. Ill (Madox's Exch., 
vol. r, p. 269) ; on id. Oct. 1278, John de Lewkenhowere was 
constituted Prior of St. Frideswide, Oxon (Heame) ; and in 
17 Edw. HI, John de Lewkenore had free warren in Spilles- 
bury, Oxon ; but they were disjointed persons. The descent 
of the Sussex family even from Nicholas Lewknor, who was 
keeper of the wardrobe, and died possessed of the manor of 
Rayne Hall, Essex, in 1268, leaving a son and heir, Roger, to 
whom Henry HI confirmed the fee (Morant's Essex, vol. ii, 
p. 401), is very doubtful. The first correct evidence of the 
Sussex Lewknors is in the Placita de quo warranto, 7 Edw. I, 
(Cal., p. 753), where Roger de Lukenor claimed and had the 
manor of Herstede, in Sussex, which he and his ancestors had 
owned from time immemorial. On the foundation of New 
Winchelsea, 16 Edw. I, we find that Sir Roger de Lewkenore 
was assigned a tenement there, next to those of Sir William 
de Echingham and Simon de Echingham. In 6 Edw. II, 
Thomas Lewknor had free warren in Horsted Keynes, Brad- 
hurst, Iteford, Selmeston, and Mankese, in Sussex, in South 
Mimms in Middlesex, and in Gretworth in co. Northampton. 



92 



Nicholas Lewknor, 
Lord of the Manor of 

Rayne Hall, Essex, 
Keeper of the Wardrobe ; 
ob. 1268. This descent, 
however, is not clearly 
supported by authority. 
(Morant's Essex, vol. ii, 
p. 401.) 



Roger de Lewkenor, ^Joan, da. and heir 



Sheriff of Surr^, 
12 Edw. I, (1284) ; 
died seized of the manors 
of Selmeston, Iteford, and 
Horsted Keynes. Inq. 
p. m. 23 Edw. I. 



of Richard de 
Kaynes, of Hor- 
sted Keynes. 



Thomas Lewkenor, =j= 
aet. 24, 23 Edw. I. Inq. 
p. m. taken at Lewes, on 
Sunday after the Feast of 
St. Edward. 



Sir Roger Lewknor, 
Knight of theShire, 1336; 
aet. 32, 10th Edw. Ill; 
Sheriff of Sussex, 29th 

Edw. Ill; 
ob. 36 Edw. III. (1362.) 



=f=Barbara, da. & heir 
of ... . Bardolph. 
(Katherine was his 
widow, but shemay 
have been his wife 
subsequent to Bar- 
bara BardolplL) 




Sir Thomas Lewknor, =?:Joane, da. and heir of 
Knt., living 30 Edw. Ill, Sir John D'Oyley, of 
(1356.) I Stoke D^Oyley. 



Richard Lewknor, 
M. P. for East Grin- 
stead, 1374. 



2 John Lewknor,^lsabel, da. of Sir 
Knt. of Shi re, 1449. | Roger Covert. 

Jone, da. and heir, 
mar. John Bartlott. 



Sir Roger Lewknor=Elizabeth, da. 



Knight of the Shire, 
4th Hen. IV (1404), ob. 
10 Edw. IV. Inq. p. m. 
13 Edw. IV. 



of Sir John 
Carew,ofFul- 
ford. 



Margaret, 

mar. Sir 

John Covert. 



Agnes, or Ann, 
mar. 

1 . Andrew Sackville, 
he ob. 9 Henry IV, 

2. Raff. Myle, 

3. . . . .Righley. 



Su* John Lewknor, 
of Goring, Knight of the 
Shire, 1450 ; Sheriff, 29 
Henry VI; M. P. for 
Horsham, 1459. Pro- 
claimed after Tewksbury, 
27th April, 1471. (Rym. 
Feed. II. p. 710.) 



Sir Thomas Lewknor,= 
M. P. for Lewes, 1468; 
Knight of the Shire; 
aet. 19, 13th Hen. IV. 
Inq. p. m. 31 Hen. VI. 



V 
(See p. 95.) 



^ Plulippa, da. and 

heir, widow of Sir 

Richard Barnes, 

Knt., of West 

Horsley, Surrey; 

who ob. 5 Hen. V. 



1 Lewknor 

2 Dalyngrudge 

3 Tregoz 



4 Folyott 

5 Camoyg 

6 Bardolph 



QUARTERINGS. 

7 Grandison 

8 Echingham 

9 Braose 



10 

11 

12 Doyley 



IS 

14 Goring 

15 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



93 



Roger de Bodyam, =t= 
temp. Hen. II. 



Henry de Bodyam. 



1 



Henry JVardetuTf 
1278, ob. 1315. 



William 
de Bodyam, 



T 



L— Gilbe 

de 
Bodya 

I 



Sir Nicholas Richard =T=Margaret de 



Wardeux. Wardeux, 
(1343.) 



Bodyam, 
da. and heir. 



Dalyngrvdge, 
of Hampshire. 



I 



Sir John Dalyngrudge =tF 



I 



Sir John balyngrudge?f=Joan, da. and heir of 
Walter de La Lind. 



ibetl 
ieiu 
da. and heir. 



Elizabeth 
Wardeux, 



2 Sir Edward Dalyngrudge, 
Founder of Bodyam Castle, 
(1386). 



I 



1 Roger Dalyngrudge, 
Sheriff of Sussex, (1353). 



iDa 



1 Sir John Dalyngrudge,=Alice, widow of 

ob. S. P. John, Baron Boteler, 

and da. and heir of 
Sir John Beauchamp, 
of Powick. 



3 Margaret, 

married 

Sir Thomas Sackville. 



94 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



Sir Ralph de Camoys, =j= Ascelina, da. and heir of 

ob. 43 Hen. III. Bichard TorpeU, of 

Inq. p. m. 48 Hen. III. Broadwater, co. Sussex. 



Ralph, Lord Camoys, = 
Baron of Broadwater, 
aet. 40 on death of his father. 
Summoned to Pari. 49 H. Ill, 
ob. 5 Edw. I. Rot. Clans. 49 
H.IIL Inq. p. m. 5 Edw. L 



John Lord Camoys, 

set. 30 on death of his father. 

ob. ante 27 Edw. I. Com. 

Pleas RoU, 13 H. IV. 



Ralph, Lord Camoys, 

hieid a market at 
Broadwater, 6 Edw. II. 
Sum* to ParL 7 E. II to 9 
Edw. III. Com. Pleas Roll, 
13 Hen. IV, Close Rolls, 7 
Edw. II. to 13 Edw. III. 



Margaret, da. and heir 

of Sir John de 

Gatesdon. Inq. p. m. 

4 Edw. II. 



Margaret de 
Baraosa (Braose ?) 



Richard Folyott =j= 



Thomas, Lord Camoys, =t= Margaret 
ob. 46 Ed. III. Com. Pleas 
Roll. Inq. p. m. 46 Ed. Ill 

Ralph Camoys 
Heir app. ob. v. p. 



•T 



Sir John Camoys, =?= Margaret, Margery, mar. 
Hugh Hastings. 



2d son, 



da. and 
co-heir. 



William Louches =?= 
of Milton. I 



Elizabeth, 
mar. Edw. 
Courtney, 
Earl of 
Devon. 



I 



Thomas, Lord Camoy8=T=Elizabeth, da. and 



K. G., summoned to 
Pari, from 7 Bich. II. 
ob. 9 Hen. V. 



heir (Lady Elizabeth 
Mortimer). 



Sir KicM Camoys, ^ 
Knight, heir 
app. ob. V. p. 



Joane, da. 
of Thomas 
Poynings. 



Alicia, mar. 
Leonard Hastings. 



Hugh, Lord Camoys, 

ob. S. P. a minor, 

4 Hen. VI. 



Margaret, mar. 
Ralph Radmylde. 

t 

(See Nicholas Lewknor, 

post, p. 101.) 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



95 



. Louchesy -j- 
of Milton. 



Sir Thomas Lewknor,= 
M. P. for Lewes, 1468; 
Knight of the Shire; 
aet. 19, 13 Henry IV. 
Inq. p. m. Henry VI. 
(See ante, p. 92.) 



SirKicM Louches, 
of Milton, Knt. 



Ellen, d. and 
heir of Sir 
William 
Wace, Knt. 



6 Walter 
Lewknor. 



John Louches, =P 
of Milton. I 



=^ Joane, 
da. of 
Walter 
Culpeper, 

of 

Bedghery, 

Kent. 



V 
(See p. 100.) 



L 



At 
mar. 
to 
.Wroth. 



Elizabeth, 

mar. 
Thomas 
Kempe. 



Jane, 

mar. 
Thomas 

Goode, 

of 
Hadley. 



Alionora, da. and co-heir =7= ^ Sir Roger Lewknor, 



Joane, wife of 

Henry or 

Thomas Frowick, 

of the Fold, 

Hertfordshire. 

(Chamicy, 

pp. 461.3.) 



of Richard, Baron 
Camoys ; Ist wife : 
. . Sept. 1445 ; oh. 
14 Oct. 18 Edw. IV. 



(See p. 96.) 



of Dedishun, in Slinfold ; 
restored in blood, 1477 ; 
SheriflF, 18 Hen. VI, and 
8 Ed. IV; ob. 38 Ed. IV. 



=Isabell, 
da. of 
Sir Roger 
Echingham, 
2d wife. 



Phi]lippa,da. and co-heir 
of Su* Edward Dalyn- 
grudge, and widow of Sir 
Richard Barnes, Knt. 



<^NichoUs =j= Elizabeth, or Isa- 
Lewknor, 

of 
Kingston- 

by-Sea, 
otherwise 
Kingston 

Bowey. 



beUa, da. of Ralph 
Radmylde, by Mar- 
garet, da. & co-heir 
of Richard Camoys. 
She was co-heir of 
her Nephew, Sh* 
William Radmylde. 
(See Camoys, on 
other side.) The el- 
der da. Constance, 
married John Gor- 
ing, andthe Camoys 
Peerage is in her 
\[/descendant. 
(See p. 101.) 



Alice, 

married 

John PeUiam. 



2 Sir John Lewkenor, 
killed at Tewkesbury, 
2 Edw. IV, 
1471, 
and bu. there. 



^Thomas Lewknor, =pElizabeth, 
of Preston, in Binderton, 
SheriflF, 14 Edw. IV. Lord of | 
Goring; ob. 8 Henry VII. 



Frances, living 2 

Hen. VIII, 1511; 

ob. S. P. 



I 
John 
Lewknor, 
ob. S. P. 



r, =r=Elizabeth, 
D, da. of 
of ... Goring. 



Elizabeth, 
mar. to 



* Richard Lewknor, of Brambletye ; 
M. P. for Horsham, 1459; 
„ Shoreham, 1468 ; 

East Grinstead, 1473 & 1478 ; 
Sheriflf, 10 Edw. IV. & 6 & 11 Hen. VII. 
ob. S. P. 



Humfrey Sidney. 



96 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



*Sir Roger Lewknor,= 
of Dedisham, in Slinfold ; 
restored in blood, 1477 ; 
ob. 38Edw.IV. 
(See ante, p. 95.) 



=A]ionora, da. and co-heir 
of Richard, Baron Camoys ; 
1st yfiie : . . Sept. 1445 ; 
ob. 14 0ct. 18Edw.IV. 



Sir Thomas Lewkenor,=pCatherine, da. of Sir 



of Trotton, aet. 34 in 29th 
Ed.IV;attaintedlRich.III; 
ob. on the Feast of St. Mar- 
garet theVirgin, 2 Rich. Ill; 
attainder reversed 1 H.VII. 



Lew] 



John Pelham, Knt., 
and Widow of John 
Bramshot. 



knor, 



William 

S.P. 
George Lewknor, 

S.P. 



I I 
Reginold Lewknor, 

S.P. 
Roger Lewknor? 

S.P. 



Elizabeth, da. o^Sir Roger Lewkenor, =7= Eleanor, da. 



Thomas Meffant, 

3d wife; she 

re-married SirBich. 

Lewknor, of 

Trotton. 

(See post, p. 100.) 



Knt. Sheriff 1532; 
obtained the castle 
and demesnes of Bo- 
diam, 1543. Will 
proved 13 Ap. 1543. 



of George, 

Lord 

Audley, 

1st wife. 



= Elizabeth, 

da. of . . . 

Hussey, 

wo. of . . 

2d wife, 

ob. S.P. 



Catherine mar. 
Richard Knatch- 
bull, temp. Hen. 
• VII. (Eng. Bart. 
ed. 1741, vol. ii, 
p. 229.) 



JohnMyUe= 


F^Katherine: 


of Great- 


SirH.Kni- 


ham, iBt 


vettwas38 


husband. 


H.VIII, 




appointed 




to the 




wardship. 



:Wynd- 
ham 

Morgan 
2d 
hus- 
band. 



^ Mabel, mar. 
Anthony Stape- 
ley,ofFramfieLd; 
ob. leaving a son 
not baptized, and 
he ob. an infant. 



Thomas=*Constance=N.B. Edward 
Foster, bom after Glemham, of 
ofWor- 12th Jan. 
cester, 1542. 

1st hus- 



band. 



in his father^s lifetime. 



Lewknor =:Cecilia, MaryMylle. 
Mylle, off da. of 
Camoys John 
Court, in Crooke 

Wool- ofSou^h- 

heeding ampton. 
and New- 
ton Berry, 
Hants. (Ped. 

See Visit, co. Southampton, 1622, 
No.91, andl686, No.94.) 



Elizabeth 
Morgan. 



•T 



Henry 
Bosville. 



Chichester, 2d 
husband. (See 
Battel Abbey 
Rec. p. 146.) 
Living 1588, 
but Mb name 
is not men- 
tioned in the 

Camoys' 
Peerage case. 



Sir Ralph Bosville. 



Sir Arthur Pole,=T=iJane,eldestda.=T=Sir ChristopheicpSir William Barentyne, 



Knt. 
2d husband. 



and co-heir. 



Pickering, Knt. 
1st husbimd. 



Henry 
Pole, 
ob. 
S.P. 



Mary 
Pole, 
mar. 
John 
Stanne. 



Margaret 
Pole, 
ob. un- 
married. 



3d husband; on death 
of Sir R. L., took Hor- 
sted Keynes, &c. Settle- 
ment on marriage dated 
1st Aug. 24 Hen. Vin. 



Ann Pickering, Sir Drew= 
married Baren- 


=Anne, 
da. 


1st, to Francis Weston, tyne, of 
son and heir of Sir Plump- 
Rich. Weston, Knt. ton, co. 


of... 
Grey. 


Under Treasurer of Sussex. 




England. 
2d, Su- Hen. Knivett, of Chorlton. 
3d, John Vaughan, of Kirkhowell. 





PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



97 



Sir Roger 

Koight, 
of West Dean. 



Lewknor,=f=] 



:Mary, da. of 
RegLtiald West, 
LordDelawarr. 



Margaret Lewknor. 
Mary Lewknor. 
Amye Lewknor. 



Richard =?=... da. of 



Lewknor, 

of 
Sherfield. 

(See p. 98.) 



Mychell- 
groye. 



Edward 

Lewknor. 

S.P. 



* Edmond Lewknor,^pJaiie, da. of ^ Roger ' Wil^am 
of Fyning. . . . Tirrell. Lewknor. Lewknor. 



^George 
Lewknor. 



Bridget, da. 
. . . Lewes, 
Ist wife. 



Thomas Lewknor . . = Ann, da. of Edmond 
had lease of the Bishop's . . . Hill, Lewknor. 



Estate in Selsea, 1578 ; 
M.P. for Midhurst, 1586, 
1588. — Cited by the 
Bishop, and examined as 
a suspected Papist, 24th 
March, 1576. (Strype's 
Annals, vol. ii, pt. ii, pp. 
22, 116.) 



2d wife. 



Richard Lewknor, =p 
of West Dean, Chief 
Justice of Wales ; a 

Commissioner for 
taking an Inventory 
of Bishop Curteis' 

goods, 1585 

(Strype'sAnnals,vol. 
iii, pt. i, p. 482.) 

(See p. 99.) 



Edmond 
Lewknor. 



Sir Lewis Lewknor, _ 
Knight of Selsea ; 
M.P. for Midhurst, 
1597; appointed, 11 
Nov. 1605, Master 
of Ceremonies to 
Ambassadors. 



Richard =P . , 
Lewknor, 

of 
Amberley. 



Thomas 
Lewknor. 



John 
Lewknor. 



Fraye Lewknor, 
ob.l617. 
Amberley 
Register. 



Rid 
Lewknor, 
ob. 1629. 



John 
Lewknor. 



T 



Thomas Lewknor, 

1614; 

ob. S.P. 



Bridget Lewknor, 
mar. John Knight- 
ley, of Oflfchurch, 

CO. Warwick ; 

created a Baronet 

by Charles I. 



Thomas 
Lewknor, 
bo. 1658. 



III. 



98 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



Richard Lewknor,: 

of Sherfield. 
(See ante, p. 97.) 



...... da. of 

Mychellgrove. 



Richard Lewknor,=j=Joane, 
da. of 
Richard 
Maskall. 



Roger John John 

Lewknor, Lewknor, Lewknor, 
ob. S.P. ob. S.P. Jiin. 



Bennetta married, 

1. Wm. Barnes, 

2. Thos. TVisden, 

3. Vincent Pinch. 
(English Barts. 
Ed.l741,vol.i, 
p. 212.) 



Richard Lewknor,=Jane, da. of Bennett,=f= Thomas -= Joane,da. 



of Bucksted, 


. . . Forster, 


da. of 


Kent; 


of 




ob. S.P. 


Northfleet. 


Challoner, 
ofl.ind- 

field, 
1st wife. 



Lewknor. 



of 

Wheeler, 
2d wife. 



Elizabeth 
Lewknor. 



Ann 
Lewknor. 



Thomas Lewknor, 
of Worcestershire. 



Jane Lewknor, married 

Anthony Sheldon, 

of Broadway, 

Worcestershh*. 

She was his widow, 

23 Elizabeth, 1581. 

(See Nash's Worcestershire, 

vol.i, p. 145.) 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 

Richard Lewknor,: 
of West Dean. 



99 



(See ante, p. 97.) 



Thomas Lewknor, 
ob. S. P. 



Sir Richard Lewknor,= 
Serjeant at Law, Chief 
Justice of Chester, Re- 
corder of Chichester, 
1597, M. P. for Chi- 
chester; ob. 6th April, 
1616, set. 76. 



:Elenor, da. of 

Christopher 

Broome, of 

Halton, Oxon. 



«Tho 



^Margaret ^Hlio- ^Christopher Lewknor,^Mary, ^Eliza- *Anthony=pSiisan, ^George ^Jol 



mar. 

John 
Austen, 
ofShal- 



mas 
Lewk- 



Surrey. 



Knt., Recorder of Chi- 
chester; M.P. for Mid- 
hurst, 1628; M.P. for 
Chichester, 1640- 1; 
declared guilty of trea- 
son to the Common- 
wealth, and lands or- 
dered to be sold, 16th 
July, 1651. (Scobell's 
Acts, 156.) 



Richard Lewknor, 
of Preston, in Bin- 
derton ; M. P. for 

Midhurst, 1620; 
Kntof Shire, 1628; 
ob.'27th May, 1635, 
set. 46, S. P. 



da. of beth Lewk- 
John Lewk- nor. 

May, of nor. 
Raw- 
mere, 
and 

relict of ] 

. Smith, 

ob. 
1642. 



da. of Lewk- Lewk- 
Edmond nor. nor. 
Bullock, 

in CO. 

Salop. 



Lawrance 
Lewknor. 



Elizabeth 
Lewknor. 



Frances Lewknor,=npMichael Martin, Elizabeth=j=Edward 



eldest da. and co- 
heir. 



of . 



Oxon. Lewknor. 



Woodward 
Knight Esq. 
of Chaw- 
ton, Hants. 



Bulstrode Peachey,= Elizabeth Marten, = William Woodward Knight, 
2d husband ; da. and heir. of Chawton, 1st husband ; 

mar. 1725, and ob. S. P. 

assumed the name 
of Knight : 

ob. 1735, set. 54, 
S. P. 



^Richard Lewknor, = 

of West Dean ; 
ob. 9th March, 1602, 
set. 34. 



Sir John Lewknor, K.B.= 
ob. 3rd Dec. 1669, 



Fkn 



/t7r 



John Lewknor, of = 

West Dean; 
M. P. for Midhurst,* 
U6l M idl ft 81 tol705; 
Knt. of the Shire, 1679; 
bom 24th April, 1658 ; 
ob.l9thFeb.l706,S.P. 



=Mary, da. of 
Thomas Bennett, 
Aid. of London. 



=Anne, da. of 
George Mynne, of 
Abisham, Surrey, 
She re-married Sir 
Wm. Morley, of 
Halnaker, and ob. 
hiswidow6thJune) 
1704, set. 70. 

: Jane .... 
(who eloped, and an 
Act was passed, 2 Wm. 
& Mary, to illegitimate 
any child she had then 
had or should have 
during her elopement.) 



100 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



^ Walter Lewknor.^Joane» da. of 

Walter 

(See ante, p. 95.) Culpeper, . 
of Bedgbery, 



Richard=7=Jane, da. 



Lewknor. 



of John 

Maynard, 

of Essex. 



Roger 
Lewknor, 
ob. S.P. 



, . da. of =j= Hnmfrey Lew] 
. Arden. 



T 



'knor =F 



Agnes, or Anne, 
■ * HaU, 
Wore. 



Katherin. 
Margaret 



-y Agnes 
da. of 
I of Wo 



Elizabeth 

Rtz- 
herbert, 
2d wife. 



=F Robert nr 
Lewk- 



I I 

Mary, Roger. Mary. 
Base- 
da. of 
Edw. 
Poynings. 



Edward, 
Vance. 



Rid 
ob. S. P. 



Mary, mar. 
. . Norton. 



Lewknor. 



Richard Lewknor,= 
ofTrotton. In right 
of his wife, took pos- 
session of Selmeston. 
Inq. taken at Lewes, 
21st Jan. 37 Hen. 
VIII. 



Jane. 
Elizabeth. 
Katherin. 
Amye. 



^Elizabeth, da. of 
Thomas Meffant, 
and widow of Sir 
Roger Lewknor, 
of Dedisham. 

(See ante, p. 96.) 



Robert "I 
Lewknor. lop 
Humphrey | ' * 
Lewlmor. J 



Elizabeth, 
married 
Thomas 
Lovelace, 
of Kent. 



^Edmond Lewknoi^Anne, Base- 
da. of 
Sir Anthony 
Browne, Knt. 



Herbert 
of Loverhill, 
Trottoh. 



Lewknor,^] 



II I I 
Thomas. 
'Henry. 
*Anthony. 
'Richard. 



^George = Frances 
ob. S. P. Ap Rhese. 



:Mary, da. of 
William Fonts, 
of Reigate, co. 
Surrey. 



Anthony, 

a soldier 

in the 

Low 

Countries ; 

there died, 

S.P. 



I 

.... mar. 

William 

Thomlinson 

Clarke. 



Constance. 



Edmond Lewknor,=T=Sarah, da. of 



of Denton, 
CO. Sussex, 1634. 



Henry 
Richardson, 

of CO. 

Cumberland. 



Wmiam,1 
John, ^S. P. 
Herbert, J 



Anne, mar. 
William 
Barham, 

of 
Mayfield. 



Elizabeth, 

mar. 
Cuthbert 
Cotton, 

of 
London. 



Susan Lewknor. 



PEDIOBEE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



101 



Robert Hdlaam^ 

l8t 

husband. 



: Jane : 
Camoys. 



' Robert 
Tregoz, 

2d 
husband. 



Thomas Radmyldet 



T 



Joane, da. 
and heir. 



Robert Tregoz. 



Agnes, 


^ Ralph =j 


r Margaret, da. 


2d 


Radmylde : 


and co-heir of 


wife. 


will 


Sir Richard 




proved 


Camoys. 




1483. 


(See ante, p. 94.) 



* Nicholas Lewknor,^^ Elizabeth, 
or Isabella, 
co-heir of 



of Kingston-by-Sea. 
(See ante, p. 95.) 



Rail 



ilph ^ Jane. 
Radmylde. 



her nephew. 



^Margaret, 

mamed 

John Goring, 

from whom the 

present 

Lord CamoyM 

descends. 



Sir^ 
Radmylde, 
ob. S.P. (1499). 



Margarett, =?= Edward =p Anne, da. of 



da. of 
Ist wife. 



Lewknor, 
ob. 



2d wife: 



Thomas 
Lewknor. 



John 



14Hen.VIII:M/ re-maxried 
vnll proved at Sir Edmond 
Lambeth, EdUngham. 

31 Oct. 1522. 



Lewknor, 

parson of 

Broadwater, 

12Hen.Vn. 



Joane, mar. 

1. Thomas Moore. 

2. Jo. Massingberds. 

3. Thomas Thetcher ? 



* Edward Lewknor,=f=Margaret, da. 



of Kingston-Bowey, 

ob. 7 July, 1528 : 

will proved at 

London, 

7 Nov. 1528 : 

died seised of Ham, 

Parham, and 

Hamsey. 



Lchard 



of. 



. Copley. 



2 Richard 
Lewknor. 



Eleanor 
Lewknor. 



Elizabeth 
Lewknor. 



Dorothy 
Lewknor. 



Edward Lewknor,^Dorothy, da. of 
of Kingston-Bowey; 

set. 11 at death of 
his father. Inq.p.m. 



V 
See p. 102. 



Sir Robert Wroth, 
Knt. of Enfield. 



' Anthony 
Lewknor. 



Eleanor, mar. 
... St. Barbe. 
Mary, mar. 
John Michell. 



Barbara, mar. 

Snr John Dawtry, 

Knt. 



102 



PEDIGREE OF THE LEWKNOR FAMILY. 



Edward Lewknor, ^ 
of Kingston-Bowey, set. 11, 
at the death of Ids fstther, 
Inq. p. m. Groom-porter to 
Edw. VI ; died in Tower 25th 
June, 1556. (Machines Diary, 
p. 108 ; Strype's Eccl. Mem. 
YoL iiL) AU the 4 Sons and 
6 Daughters restored in blood 
by Act of Parliament, 15t8. if 
(See ante, p. 101.) 



* Sir Edward Lewknor,=pSu8an, da. and 
co-heir of Tho. 
Higham, of 
Higham Hall, 
CO. Suffolk. 

(The other 
co-heir, Anne, 
married Thos. 
Clere, Esq.) 



Dorothy, da. of 
Sir Robert Wroth, 
Knt. of Enfield. 



of Kingston - Bowsey, 
and Denham Hall, in 
CO. Suffolk; M.P. for 
Shoreham, 1572; ob. 
19th September, 1605. 
(Funeral Verses "bn the 
death of Sir Edward 
Lewknor and Lady 
Susan, his wife, with 
Death's Apologie and a 
Rejoynder to the same, 
were printed in 1606.) 



^Thomas = Judith, 
Lewknor. da. of 

q,ul- 
man. 



'Stephen 
Lewknor, 
ob. S. P. 

*William 
Lewknor, 
ob. S.P. 



^Jane 
mar. 

1 John 
Chirk, 

2 John 
Pascall. 



'Maria, mar. 

Matthew 
Machell, of 
Hackney. 
^Elizabeth. 
^Anne. 



•Dorothy, nuur. 

Sir Benjamin 

Pellatt, of 

Steyning, 

Sussex. 



^Lucrece, mar. 

Wm. Jackson, 

of London. 



*Sir EdwardFpMary, da. of ' Susan, 

Lewknor, of Sir Henry mar. 

Denham, Neville, of Thos. 

Knt. PeUingbere, Steward, 

ob. 1618; Berks; will of 

will proved proved at Barton, 

15th May, Norwich, co. 

1618. 7 Oct. 1642. Suffolk. 



8 Martha, 

mar. 

to Thos. 

Goumey, 

son and 

heir of 

Henry 

Goumey, 

of EUing- 

ham, 
Norfolk. 



^Elizabeth 'Dorothy, 
Lewknor. 



^Sarah 
mar. to 
Thomas 
Steward, 
of Barton 
MiUs. 



mar. 
Robert 
CasteU, 
of East 
Hatley, 

and Castle 
HaU, 
Cam- 
bridge, 

&ob.S.P. 



^Amie, 

mar. 

Godfrey 

Rodes, 

of 
Great 
Hough- 
ton, 
Yorkshire. 



^Hester, 

mar. 
Sir Robert 
Quarles, 

of 
Romford* 



Henry 


Edward =y 


Lewk- 


Lewknor, 


nor, 


bap. 17 


bap. 


Feb. 1613, 


4 May, 


ob. 


1612; 


1634. 


bu. 




1616. 





:Elizabeth, 


Anne, 


K:a- 


Mary; 


da. of Sir 


mar. 


therine. 


ob. 




Sir 


mar. 


un-mar. 


RusseU; 


Thomas 


James 


on 


re-mar. 


Le 


Cal- 


26th 


to John 


Strange, 


thorpe. 


January, 


Gauden, 


of Hun- 


of East 


1678. 


Bishop of 


stanton, 


Bar- 




Wor- 


Bart. 


sham, 




cester. 


ancestor 


Esq. 






of Style- 


ancestor 






man, 


of Sir 
Jacob 
Mtley, 





9SirRobert=r=Mary, da. 



Lewknor, 
ofAcrivin, 
CO. Kent. 



and heir of 
Alexander 
Hamond, 
of Acres, 
CO. Kent. 



Hamond Lewknor. 



Mary, only child and heir; mar. 
Sir Horatio Townsend, Bart., 
a&erwKrda Lord Towvuend: she 
ob. S. P., and bu. at East Rayn- 
ham, Norfolk, 22d May, 1673. 



103 



SILVER CLOCK OF KING CHARLES THE FIRST. 

EXHIBITED AT THE ARUNDEL MEETING, AUGUST 9, 1849. 

BY WILLIAM TOWNLEY MITFOBID, ESQ. 




The silver bedside clock given by King Charles I to Mr. 
(afterwards Sir Thomas) Herbert, as he was going to the place 
of execution at Whitehall, on January 30, 1649, came into 
possession of my family by intermarriage with the Herberts, 
about a century ago. Since that time it has remained in our 
possession. Thomas Herbert, a kinsman of the Earls of 
Pembroke, was one of the early travellers in the East Indies, 



104 SILVER CLOCK OP 

his account of which has been published, and in later life was 
of Parliamentarian politics during the civil war, until he was 
appointed as a personal attendant upon the king, when he was 
won over by nearer acquaintance, and became sincerely 
attached to him until the end. It has been said that the MS. 
of 'Icon Basilike' was dehvered to him, but that is very 
doubtful. He died March 1, 1681, aged 76. 

Parts of the interior mechanism of the clock were unfortu- 
nately modernised about fifty years ago, and the original catgut 
spring replaced by a metal one, but the outer case of fine 
perforated work, inclosing two silver bells, on which the hours 
and quarters are struck, remains unaltered. " Edward East, 
London," is engraven inside ; his name is among those of the 
ten Assistants of the Clockmaker's Company, on its first 
incorporation in 1631 ; and he is mentioned as the king's 
watchmaker, living in Fleet Street, in the following extracts. 

The woodcut of the back of the clock is two-thirds of the 
real size ; the other woodcuts represent the exact size of this 
beautiful relic of historical interest. Its previous history will 
be best explained by the following extracts fi-om 'Memoirs of 
the two last years of the Meign of that unparallelVd Prince^ of 
ever blessed memory. King Charles /, by Sir Thonia^s Herbert — 
London, 1702.' ,, 



Page 91. — '* The king being desirous to know tHe matter, 
he before break of day rang; his silver bell, which, with both 
his * watches, were usually laid upon a stool near the wax 
lamp, that was set near them in a large silver basin." 

Page 101.-—" One night, as the king was preparing to go 
to bed, as his custom was, he wound up both his watches. 



KING CHARLES THE FIRST. 



105 



one being gold, the other silver, he miss'd his diamond seal, 
a table that had the king's arms cut with great curiosity, and 
fixt to the watch." 

Page 103. — "Another night his majesty appointed Mr. 
Herbert to come into his bedchamber an hour earlier than 
usual in the morning ; but it so happened that he overslept 
his time, and awaken'd not untill the king's silver bell 
hastened him in. * Herbert,' said the king, * you have not 
observ'd the command I gave last night.' He acknowledged 
his fault. ' Well,' said the king, * I wiU order you for the 
future ; you shall have a gold alarm watch, which, as there 
may be cause, shaU awake you ; write to the Earl of Pem- 
broke to send me such a one presently.' The Earl imme- 
diately sent to Mr. East, his watchmaker, in Fleet-street, 
about it ; of which more wiU be said at his Majesty's coming 
to St. James's." 

Page 120.— "Mr. Herbert about 
this time going to the cockpit near 
Whitehall, where the Earl of Pem- 
broke's lodgings were, he then, as at 
sundry other times, enquired how 
his Majesty did, and gave his humble 
duty to him, and withall ask'd him if 
his Majesty had the gold watch he 
sent for, and how he liked it. Mr. 
Herbert assured his lordship the king 
had not received it. The earl fell 
presently into a passion, marveUing 
thereat; being the more troubled, lest 
his Majesty should think Jiim careless 
in observing his commands, and told 
Mr. Herbert, at the king's coming to 
St. James's, as he was sitting under 
the great elm tree, near Sir Benjamin 
Ruddier's lodge in the park, seeing 
a considerable military officer of the 
army pass towards St. James's, he 
went to meet him, and demanding 
of him if he knew his cousin, Tom 
Herbert, that waited on the king? 




106 SILVER CLOCK OF 

The officer said, he did, and was going to St. James's. The 
earl then delivered to!him the gold watch that had the alarm,, 
desiring Jhim to give it to Mr. Herbert, to present it to the 
king. The officer promised the earl he would immediately do 
it. ' My lord,' said Mr. Herbert, ' I have sundry times seen 
and pass'd by that officer since, and do assiu-e your lordship he 
hath not deKver*d it me according to your order and his 
promise, nor said anything to me concerning it ; nor has the 
king it, I am certain. The earl was very angry, and gave the 
officer his due character, and threatened to question him. But 
such was the severity of the times, that it was then judged 
dangerous to reflect upon such a person,^ being a favourite of 
the time, so as no notice was taken of it. Nevertheless, 
Mr. Herbert (at the earl's desire) acquainted his Majesty 
therewith, who gave the earl his thanks, and said, ' Ah, had 
he not told the officer it was for me, it would probably have 
been delivered ; he well knew how short a time I could enjoy 
it.' This relation is in prosecution of what is formerly men- 
tion'd, concerning the clock or alarm- watch his Majesty 
intended to dispose of as is declared." 

Fage 131.—" He" (the king) " commanded Mr. Herbert 
to give his gold watch to the Dutchess of Richmond ; all 
which, as opportunity served, Mr. Herbert delivered." 

Page 132. — " Colonel Hacker then knock'd easily at the 
king's chamber-door" (on the morning of Jan. 30). " Mr, 
Herbert being within, would not stir to ask who it was ; but 
knocking the second time a little louder, the king bade him go 
to the door. He guessed his business. So Mr. Herbert 
demanding wherefore he knocked, the colonel said, he would 
speak with the king. The king said, ' Let him come in.' 
The colonel, in trembling manner, came near, and told 
his majesty it was time to go to Whitehall, where he might 
have some fmi;her time to rest. The king bade him go forth, 
he would come presently, Some time his majesty was private, 
and afterwards taking the good bishop by the hand, looking 
upon him with a chearful countenance, he said, ' Come, let us 
go ;' and, bidding Mr. Herbert take with him the silver 

^ Whether this person, who intercepted the king's intended present of a gold watch, 
was Colonel Joyce, or some other equally honest Roundhead officer, must be left to 
conjecture. 



KING CfiARLES THE FIRST. 



107 



clock that hung by the bed-side, said, 'Open the door; Hacker 
has given us a second warning/ Through the garden the 
king passed into the park, where, making a stand, he asked 
Mr. Herbert the hour of the day ; and taking the clock into 
his hand, gave it to him, and bade him keep it in memory 
of him, which Mr. Herbert keeps accordingly/' 




108 



NOTES ON THE WILLS 

PROVED AT THB 

CONSISTORY COURTS OF LEWES AND CHICHESTER. 
BY MH. MARK ANTONY LOWER. 

(read at THB BRIGHTON MEETING, DECEMBER, 1849.) 



Sir Harris Nicolas, in the preface of his *Testamenta 
Vetusta/ observes, that " of all species of evidence, whether 
of the kindred or of the possessions of individuals, perhaps the 
most satisfactory is afforded by their wills ; and in many cases 
these interesting documents exhibit traits of character which 
are more valuable, because more certain, than can possibly be 
deduced from the actions of their lives." After some philo- 
sophical remarks in proof of this assertion, he adds, " But it is 
to the antiquary — ^to him who seeks for information on the 
habits and manners of his ancestors — ^from sources unpolluted 
by the erroneous constructions or misrepresentations of others, 
and who (setting aside the theories of a favourite writer on 
past times) judges from evidence alone, that early wills are of 
the greatest importance. Where, but in such instruments, 
can we possibly obtain an accurate knowledge of the articles 
which constituted the furniture of the houses, or the wearing 
apparel of persons who lived several centuries ago ? or in what 
other record can so satisfactory an account of the property of 
an individual be discovered as in that in which he bequeaths 
it to his child or to his friend ?" The archaeologist who has 
paid the slightest attention to these valuable records will need 
no confirmation of these observations. 

All are aware that the principal depositary of wills is in the 
Prerogative Court of Canterbury at Doctors' Commons. It 
is there that the testaments of the greater portion of the noble 
and gentle famihes of the province are deposited ; still there 
are in the various episcopal and archidiaconal courts many 
early wills of great antiquarian interest. In the county of 



NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. 109 

Sussex there are three registries, viz. that of the Archdeaconry 
of Chichester, at Chichester, that of the Archdeaconry of 
Lewes, at Lewes, and that of the Pecuhars of the Archbishop, 
also kept at the latter town. By way of calling the attention 
of our Society to this branch of archaeological research, I in- 
tend in this paper to note down a few remarks resulting from 
occasional perusals of the wills preserved in the registries 
alluded to. 

The earhest will I have met with in the Lewes registry is 
dated 1628. At Chichester, the wills are of about the same 
date. Those of the Pecuhars commence in the reign of 
Elizabeth. 

The principal utility of these documents is the Ught which 
they cast upon family history. As I have already stated, the 
wills of the more eminent families are principally to be found 
at Doctors' Commons ; still many of those made by the gentry 
of bygone times exist in the local depositaries ; while almost 
the entire material for the pedigrees of that interesting class, 
the old yeomanry of Sussex, is to be found in them. By the 
authentic light of these memorials, the pubhshed pedigrees of 
county families may be carried a few descents higher, as well 
as greatly amplified in the collateral branches. And it is 
highly curious to trace, on the one hand, how the gradual rise 
or dechne of a family has taken place, from yeomanhood to 
gentry, from gentry, it may be, through a successive de- 
cadence, to the very verge of pauperism. On the other hand, 
it is no less remarkable to observe how steadily the fortunes 
of some families have held on " the even tenour of their way,* 
through the long period of three centuries. In the year 1 534, 
for example, William Ade, of Radmyll, bequeaths to his wife 
and children property of a description which proves that he 
was an agriculturist, holding a Kttle estate of his own and 
occupying more, which ever since has been the social position 
of his descendants, thrifty and well-to-do members of the com- 
monwealth— r" their country's pride;" — and if the said Thomas, 
in his goodwill, could contribute towards the making of a 
" northe doore in the parische churche of Radmell a quarter of 
barley," he has lineal descendants — among whom may be 
reckoned our valued member and contributor, Mr. Charles 
Ade — ^who would be, and are, equally forward in promoting 



110 NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. 

any object for the common good. Here I would add, paren- 
thetically, that Master Ade*s wishes about a " northe doore" 
for his parish chm-ch were realised — ^the stone casing of it re- 
mains, though the aperture has long been closed. Why, I will 
not undertake to say : I have often wondered how it is that 
we find so many instances of the blocking-up of northern doors 
in our Sussex churches. But, to return, the investigation of 
wills often supplies us with information regarding the dedica- 
tion of churches and the details of their arrangements, such as 
chapels, altars, &c., not elsewhere ascertainable. Thus William 
Tyttelton, vicar of Chiddingly in 1559, directs his body to be 
buried " in the chauncell, at the north syde, under the septdcreJ' 
Now, so far as I am aware, this is the only kind of proof of 
this church having had its " sepulchre," or recess, so common 
in our larger churches, for the enactment of the scene of the 
Resurrection at Easter ; for the chancel has been so modernised 
as to leave no traces of it. 

The prebend of Woodhome in Chichester cathedral, now 
held by our member, the Rev. Dr. Holland, formerly sustained 
the singular appendage of a chapel in the churchyard of 
Arlington. At the south-west comer of that cemetery there 
existed, within memory, some slight remains of this bmlding; 
but the only documentary evidence I have met with concern- 
ing it occurs in a will. In 1563 Elizabeth Fynnes (Fiennes), 
of Arlington, widow, bequeaths her body to burial, " in Erlyng- 
ton chyrche, or in the chappell within the sayd chyrcheyarde/' 

Benefactions to the parish church of the testator occur in 
almost every early will. They usually consist of small sums, 
without any specific direction as to their appropriation. Some- 
times, however, the object of the gift is distinctly stated. Thus, 
in 1542, Thomas Standen, of Ticehurst, gives "to the selyng 
or gylding of the my ddell rofi" over the body of the said church 
of T^slierst X marks, to be made within iiij yers next after my 
decease, on the condycion that the parishons there, or sum 
other well-dysposyd people, wyll goo further in the same." 
** Item (he adds) I bequeth to the purchasing of a fayre, to be 
kept at Tysherst grene or strett, v marks, and if the parishens 
do not obteyne their purpose in purchasing the said fayre, 
then I wyll that (the) v marks shall goo to the necessary re- 
paracons of the said church." Perhaps some member who is 



NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. Ill 

acquainted with tlie building may be enabled from this extract 
to ascertain whether the testator's wish was carried out. 
Standen appears to have been a substantial yeoman, for in 
addition to a legacjr for the reparation of " the most noysum 
and fowle wayes within the said paryshe of Tysherst, whereas 
most nede shalbe sene by the discrecyon of the honesty of the 
parishe/' he bequeaths " unto an honest priest callyd S' 
Kichard Atkinson v", to syng for my sawle, my wyffe's sawle, 
and all Cristen sawles, the space of iij quarters of a yere, that 
is to say, xxxiij' iiij* a quarter, and to S3mge now the said iij 
quarters forthe, and from hence forth without seas3mg." 

These incidental notices often supply the names of the 
parochial incumbent at the date of the will ; a matter of some 
interest to the topographer. Before the Reformation, parish 
priests are almost uniformly honoured with the style of ^' /%>," 
a designation which will call to mind several Shaksperean 
characters. 

The images and other objects of devotion in the unreformed 
church are frequently mentioned in wills. William Alewyn, 
of Westdean, near Chichester, by his will, dated 1525, directs 
his body " to be buryed in the chauncell of Saynct Andrewe, 
of Westden," and gives " to the silver crosse of Westden xxf , 
and to every light beyng in the chirche of Sancte Andrew half 
a quarter of barly." John Jefifraye, of Rippe, in 1558, be- 
queaths his body to be buried " within the paryshe churche 
of Rype, before the Image of our Lady of pity e!^ I may re- 
mark, that this term " our Lady of pity," in Latin, " Mater 
Dolorosa," was applied to all those images of the Virgin in 
which she was represented with our Saviour on her knee, as 
he was taken from the cross — a very melancholy aspect.^ 
Anthony Sentleger esquyer, in 1539, desires interment in the 
church of Slyndon, " before ^e.picV' of our Lady'' William 
Jeflferay, of Chiddingly, in 1 543 orders his grave to be made "in 
the church of Chet3aigligh, in the middyll passe before the roode 
(or crucifix) at my father's fett." He also wills to have " a 
taper of iiij pownds of wax to bume before the sepulker 
[already referred to as existing in this church in the will of 
Tjrttelton, the vicar], the space of vij yers." In 1542, George 
Coulpeper, of Balcombe, Gent., directs his body to be buried 

» Gent. Mag., Oct. 1836. 



112 NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. 

in the parish church there, " before the alter or memoriale of 
our Ladyy Oblations to the shrine of St. Richard of Chichester 
— ^so ably illustrated by our Honorary Secretary — are of very 
frequent occurrence. 

The provision made for the " helthe" of the testator's 
" sowle'' varies with the means he possessed. Sometimes the 
aid of a single priest at the " burying," " month's mind," and 
" year's mind,' was all that was directed ; at other times, four, 
six, or even twenty, priests are ordered to attend the exequies. 
John at More, of More House, in Wivelsfield, by his wUl, dated 
1542, directs xx priests to attend his burial, to sing dirges 
and masses for his soul, and to have vi* each for their trouble. 
Nicholas Apsley, of Pulborough, Gent., in 1546, bequeaths 
" unto XX prysts to singe masse at his burying x", and unto 
other XX prysts to singe masse at his monthes myndex' 
Edward Wheatley, of Pevensey, a wealthy yeoman, in 1545 
directs that " Robert Crossebyll, priest, shall synge for the 
helth of his soule and all Chnsten (souls), in the church of 
St. Nicolas of Pevensey, one hole yeare, and have for his labor 
X**." A stiU wealthier person, of the same class, Richard 
Burre, " ffarmer of the parsonage of Sowntyng, called the 
Temple, which I hold of the howse of Saynt Jonys," in 19 Hen. 
VIII, wiUs that S' Robert Bechton, " my chaplen, syng ffor 
my sowle by the space of xi yers," and further requires an 
obit for his soul for eleven years in Sompting church — " at 
that obbit to be spente in priests, clerks, ryngers, and pouer 
people xiij' iv^ ;" annual sums of iij' iv* and ij* to be sent on 
the occasion to the " gray ffiyars of Chichester, to the blacke 
ffiyars of Chichester, to the fl&yers of Arundel, and to the 
ffiyers of the Sele^ To the reparations of Reigate church he 
gives the large sum of £6. 13*. 4rf. Humbler testators give at 
their buryings and month's minds largesses of wheat, barley, 
meat, bread, and " here." Geflfreye Holman, of Horsted 
Keynes, in 1558, orders as a gift to the poor on these occa- 
sions " one busshel of wheate in breade, and drinke to the 
same, and che%e or hering as the time shall forten" — a curious 
illustration of olden manners. 

Quitting for the present bequests of a religious nature, I 
would observe that those which relate to the disposal of pro- 
perty are of great value. Landed estates are generally speci- 



NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. 113 

fied, and thus much light is thrown upon local history ; while 
the manners of our ancestors are often illustrated by the 
references made to personal effects. I select a few instances. 
Joane, widow of Thomas Culpeper, of Crawley, 'esquier/ 
(temp. Henry VIII), gives to her " yongist son, John Fenner, 
a salt-seller, with a cover, and halff a dosen of the best sylver 
sponys and a bede," and all her " wayns and carts, with such 
other thyngs that appertenyth unto husbandry." She gives 
also to her daughter Fenner her " best beads of corroll gawdye 
with gold,'* and to Elene, another daughter, " a httel cope 
gilt." Thomas Shoyswell, of ShoysweU, in Etchingham, gives, 
in 1580, to Dorothy his wife, "a standing cupp of sylver 
parcell-guilt ; also ij chests, the one the chest that / made at 
Sheffyld — ^the other that standeth at the stayers hed, and the 
cubberd that standeth at my bede head ; also a gold ringe in- 
graven, with a scale like unto a man's head/' Somewhat 
unnecessarily, according to our modern notions, he adds, that 
she is to have " the use and weringe of her wedinge ringe 
during her lief, and a ringe with blewe saffier," He farther 
gives her " the chamber in his howse called the Grene chamber, 
and the chamber within the same, together with free ingress, 
egresse, and regresse into and from the same by the ways, 
droves, and stayers used and accustomed to the same [together 
with wood for fuel], and the garret over the Greene chamber, 
and free liberty to bake and brewe in the bakehouse and 
brewehouse for her owne necessarie use, and to drye her clothes 
uppon the hedges and bushes about his mannor-house of 
Shoyswell ; and sufficient rome, pasture, and haye for ij geldings 
in the stables and grounds nere adioyning the said mannor- 
house." John Mascall, of Sherington, in Selmeston, in 31 Eliz., 
gives his eldest son Walter all his " brewinge vessells, and all 
other old standerds and utensiUs of the house, all his books, 
and £100." John Bolney, of Bolney, "esquyer," in 1551, 
after ordering his burial in the " chauncell of Bolney churche, 
under the cofer (aumbry ?), on the north syde thereof, gives 
inter alia " to Mr. John Covert, esquyer, ij payre of almond 
synetts and spUnts thereto, with a bowe and a sheafe of arrowes 
and a byU." Nicholas Stone, of the chappellrye of Uckfelde, 
in 10 Eliz., gives to Thomas Stone, his brother, his " best cloke 
and worst bowe, and all that belongethe theartoe ;" and to his 
III. 8 



114 NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. 

brother John, his buckler. Thomas Culpeper, of Wilmington, 
Esq., in 1602, gives to Sir Nicholas Parker, of Willingdon, to 
his cousin Anthony Culpeper, of Bedgbury, to all his " over- 
living'' brothers, and to his nephew, Culpeper, of Ffokington, 
" a ringe of gold value £3. 6^. 8d., with this posey to bee 
graven at the outside of the ringe, round about the knobb, viz. 
' NON TE DESERVi SED PRESTO.' " In bequeathing farming-stock, 
the names of cattle are frequently specified. Thomas Ade, of 
Rodmill, in 1556 gives his son Richard "iiij oxen and a cowe, 
Quyll, and Merywater, ChayKvy, and Sharpe, and the cowe that 
he bowght." Christian Blaker, of Portslade, widow, in 1578, 
gives her daughter, Anne Beard, of Rottingdean, her best russet 
cassock; to another daughter, Alice Foggins, her second russet 
cassock, her best worsted kertle, and a peticote ; and to a third 
daughter, Barbara Avery , " a coverlet of blewe and red yame," 
&c. Among household furniture, " pewter dishes" and " brasse 
pottes" are always conspicuous. 

In the will of William Wenham, of Laughton, 1563, is the 
following singular bequest : " To my cosen, Johan Hibden, 
X? to be delyvered to my syster, Johan Holden, toward the 
healynge of her legged 

The names of the witnesses to a will are sometimes sugges- 
tive of interesting considerations. In the testament of John 
Afyld, of Warbleton, 1543, the name of Richard Woodman, 
the Protestant martyr, subsequently burnt at Lewes, appears 
in juxtaposition with that of George Fayrbanke, his persecutor, 
the unprincipled and apostatising priest of the parish. 

The foregoing remarks may be regarded as prefatory to a 
series of entire Wills and abstracts of Wills which I intend to 
offer to the notice of the Society for publication, if desired, in 
future volumes of the Collections, Not to extend the present 
paper unduly, I shall confine myself to two wills, of the date 
of 1542, from the registry of the Archdeacon of Lewes. 

No. I. (Abstract.) 

'* In the name of God, &c. I, Thomas Donet, of Bur- 
WASSHE, &c. I give and bequeth my sail, &c., and my body 
to be buryed in the church-yerdof St. Bartholomew, in burwashe 
aforesayd. It. I give to the high' aulter ther, for my tythes 
and oblacions neclygently forgotten, vj*. It. To the mother 



NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. 115 

churcli of Chichester, iiij**. Item, I gyve to the church of bur- 
washe, iij". iiij**. to bye a legger, otherwise a great portwys, to 
say matyns and evensong. It. I wyll have bestowyd at my 
burying, in masses and diriges and other charitable deds, 
vi^ viij^. Item, as mych at my moneth day in lyke wyse vi". viij^." 

The bequest of a legacy for the purchase of a porteus or 
service-book for the parish chiu'ch, is curious ; but my principal 
object in this will is to show the farming stock of a consider- 
able Sussex agriculturist upwards of three centuries ago. 

" Item. I gyve to Rose my wyff the leasse of my farme of 
broksmayle^ [with] viij kyne, ij oxen, and ij marys (mares), the 
best that she can chuse. Item. I gyve to her all my whole 
howsehold duryng her lyff [afterwards to her two daughters, 
Agnes and Elizabeth]. Item. I gyve to Rose my wyff ij 
towyeryngs, and ij twelmontjmgs. 

" To Jane, my wife's daughter, * an haffer of ij yerys 

age.' 

" To John, my son, ' all hys catell that he hath with 

me, and a cow,' &c. 

" To Wylliam, my son, a cow of v yers. 

" To Hary Donet, my godson, a calf. 

" To Thomas Donet, my godson, a calf. 

" To Jelian Donet, an haffer of ij yers. 

" Item. I wyll to Stephan,my son, an horse called marcocke . . 
and a copell of bullocks of ij yere. 

" To Wyllm. Stylman, my godson, a copull of twel- 

montyngs. 

" r- To Robert Donet, a calff. 

" To Wyllm. Donet, my son, a bay geld3mg and a 

mare called trouleppe? 

" To Jone Styman, a cowe." (Dated 22 Dec. 1542.)* 

II. 

" In the name of god, amen : the last day of September, 
the yere of our lord god 1542, I, Nycholas Wordsworthe, 
chantry priest of Crawley, bejmg hole of mynd and perfect 

^ Brookmaile appears on the Ordnance Survey as a house three quarters of a mile north 
of Burwash church. 

3 This wordy whatever it may mean, is now corrupted to Jhdipt a common name for 
horses in Sussex. 

* Lewes Registry, hher i, fol. 5. 



116 NOTES ON WILLS, ETC. 

remembrans, make my testament in maner and form foloyng ; 
fyrst I bequeth my sail to allmyghty god, om* lady st. mary, 
and to all the company of hevyn, and my body to be buryed 
on the sowth side of the steple in the church-yerd of Crawley. 
Also I gyff and bequeth to the churche of crawley vi'. viij^. 
Item, to the mother church of Chychester iiij*. Item, to the 
church of Slynfold v". Item, to the churche of Ichjmgfeld v". 
Item, I gyff and bequeth to S' wyll" Knotton, curat of worth, 
my large gown, my best doblet, and all the hangyngs in the 
great chamber, all my boks, a chest, a tabull, a chayre, and 
my quyltis (?), and a payre of aundeyrens for a chymnay. 
Item, to mr. vicar of Ifeld, my second gown ; to S' Re. of 
Cappell (Capel, in Surrey ?) my third gown ; and to S' Henry 
trowbeke my old gown. Item, I give to Olyver s children all 
my bras and pewter, a lyttyll copbord, a coppe, a payre of 
shets, ij shirts, and a trest (?). Item, to Ric' Copp' a payre 
of shets. Item. To george Deacon a payre of shets. Item, 
to Thomas Juster a coverlet. Item. I gyff to wyllf, mr. 
ffenner's son, a fetherbed and a bolster. Item, to Edward 
ffenner a longesettle ; and to mris, ffenner a copbord. Item, 
I gyff to my brother-in-law that dyd mary my syster a Ijrttyll 
chalece, a vestment, and a supercdtare,^ Item, I wyU my 
howse shalbe sold which I did bye of Mr. Thomas Mychyll, 
and iiij marks of the same monye [to go] to Mr. ffenner, 
which I owe hym for my bord, and the rest thereof to be 
devydyd betwyn my brothers. Item, to Hethe's wyff a payre 
of shets and a coverlet. The rest of my goods I gyff to 
Thomas Dawes, whom I make myn executor of this my last 
win and testament. I wyll S'. wyll"". Knotton aforesaid and 
Thomas Dawes to receyve and gather up aU my debts, and 
they to see them disposyd for my saule's helth, and all christen 
sawles, accordyng to their discrecion, these beyng wytnesse, 
S'. WyU™. Knotton, priest, Thomas Dawes, Harman's wydow, 
goodwyff hethe, with others."^ 

^ Superaltare. The ciboriiim» which hangs over an altar — ^the pyx in which the Eucharist 
is kept — a portable altar, or an osculatory. 
^ Lewes Registry, liber i, fol. 3, recto. 



h 










N 
y 



EXTRACTS FROM 

THE JOURNAL AND ACCOUNT-BOOK 

OF 

TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ., BARRISTER-AT-LAW, 

OF OCKENDEN HOUSE, CUCKFIELD, FROM THE YEAR 1683 TO 1714. 
EDITED, WITH NOTES, 

BY ROBERT WILLIS BLENCOWE, ESQ. 



Having, through the kindness of my friend, the Rev. Mr. 
Plucknett, been enabled to publish extracts from the Journal 
of a Sussex Clergyman, the Rev. Giles Moore, in the first 
volume of the Sms, Arch. Collections^ an opportunity has been 
kindly offered by another neighbour, Mr. Bull, of Lindfield, 
to lay before the pubUe a sequel to that work, in the following 
extracts from the Journal of a Sussex gentleman, which, com- 
mencing only six years later than that referred to, gives to 
those who are interested in such inquiries an opportunity of 
comparing wages and prices for a period of nearly sixty years, 
and to those who are curious in such matters, it affords an 
insight into the domestic habits and manners of another class 
of men — ^those of the country gentleman of that time, a subject 
which has acquired additional interest from the masterly 
manner in which it has been lately treated by Mr. Macaulay, 
though the truth and accuracy of his sketch has been some- 
what angrily disputed. 

The manuscript from which the following extracts are taken 
was kept by Mr. Burrell, a member of that family which has 
long occupied an eminent position in this county. The family 
of Burrell, which is a very ancient one, was originally settled 
in Northumberland, where they remain to this day. One of 
them, named Ralph, in the reign of Edward II, married 
Sismonda, the daughter and heiress of Sir Walter Woodland, 
of the county of Devon, and in consequence they settled in 
that county. A younger son, a descendant of that branch of 
the family, named Gerard, being bred to the church, became, 
in 1446, archdeacon of Chichester, canon residentiary of that 



118 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

cathedral, and vicar of Cuckfield, and through him the family 
was introduced iQto Sussex. 

The author of this Journal, Timothy, seventh son of Walter 
Burrell, was bom in 1643 ; he was educated at Trinity College, 
Cambridge, was called to the bar, and practised in London : 
this he gave up, and he settled in the country, where he stiQ 
followed the profession of the law, and was generally known by 
the title of Counsellor Burrell. He appears to have been a 
good man, a scholar, and a gentleman. His charities were 
extensive, and he exercised a generous hospitahty towards his 
neighboiu"s, both rich and poor. 

Mr. Burrell was thrice married ; his first wife was Elizabeth, 
daughter of Sir HarryGoring, of Highden; his secondwas Mary, 
daughter of Sir Job Charlton, of Luxford, in Herefordshire ; 
and his third wife was Elizabeth Chilcott, of Surrey. He had 
no children by either of his first wives, and the last died in 
giving birth to an only daughter, bom in 1696. She was 
married, at 19, to Mr. Trevor, who became the second Lord 
Trevor. Short as their married life was, it proved to be an 
unhappy one. She died about two years after, leaving, as her 
mother had done, an only daughter, Ehzabefth, who married 
the second Duke of Marlborough. 

Mr. BurreU, whose affections were centred in his only child, 
survived her loss a very short time, sickness and grief bringing 
down his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave. In his will, 
made after his daughter's marriage, he leaves his estates for 
his hfe to his son-in-law, and names him one of his executors 
and trustees. In a subsequent codicil, drawn up after his 
daughter's death, he revokes these appointments, giving as his 
reason for so doing " his son-in-law's rude and ungrateful 
treatment of himself, and his morose and ungentlemanlike 
conduct to his daughter, who, in the opinion of all who knew her, 
deserved very different and far better treatment from him." He 
died at his house at Ockenden, 26th December, 1717, aged 75. 

The grandmother of Mr. Bull, the possessor of the original 
manuscript, was a Stapley, a descendant of that ancient family, 
so long resident at Hickstead Place, in the parish of Twineham, 
and it was from thence that the manuscript was brought. It 
entirely relates to domestic matters ; many of the notices are in 
Latin, of which language he was evidently a considerable 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BUREELL, ESQ. 



119 



master, and occasionally in Greek, and they are accompanied 
by characteristic sketches, the first of which represents his 
house and the small property surroimding it, and many of 
those which follow are intended to indicate either the moral 
habits or the occupations of those to whom he refers ; and it 
is to J. H. Hurdis, Esq., of Newick, who upon this, and upon 
other occasions, has proved himself a zealous friend to our 
Society, that we are indebted for the graphic illustrations 
which accompany the work. 




Coppice, 1 acre S roods 22 rods. 
S. Great HiUy field, 3 acres 3 roods 20 rods 

4. Little HQly field, 1 acre 1 rood 18 rods. 

5. Park field, 2 acres 8 roods 18 rods. 



6. Market field, 3 acres wanting 1^ rod. 

7. Upper mead, 3 acres 1 rood 19 rods,. 
9. Bean plat, 1 rood 7| rods. 

12. Orchard. 




120 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

The house and estate still remain in the family, being the 
property of Sir Charles Burrell, and the place is occupied by 
Mr. J. Fearon, who, fully appreciating the beautiful and pic- 
turesque character of the old house, has kindly and Uberally 
presented the Society with the plate which appears as the 
frontispiece to this paper. 

" The whole low part of Ockenden House is computed by 
WiQ Lindfield, as to the covering, at 38 squares and a half ; 
the tail part. at 10 squares and a half. 

"Walter Savage came as promo, condo, clerico, came- 
rarius,^ at Christmas, 1683. Sarah PuUer, as dayry- 
mayd, on the 5th May, at the wages of 45^. p! an. 
Abraham Holford came as footman, 1st June, 1685, at 
the wages of 30*. p' an., with coat, breeches, and hat. 
John Hall came as coachman, 1st July, 1685 ; his wages 
were £6 p' an., a coat and breeches : I gave him 2*. 6d. 
more for catching moles. Margaret Lawes came as chamber- 
mayd, at the wages of 50*. ; and Mary Coley as cook, at 50*. 
p! an.2 

* Et Luxus populator opum, cui semper adhaeret 
Infelix humili gressu comitatur Egestas.' ^ Claudian." 

1686. 
" 2d April. I spent at Lewes 14*. ; at Highden 17*. 
" 3d May. I spent at London £22 17*. lOd, 

** Me eonstare mihi sds, et discedere tristem 
Quandocunque trahunt inyisa negotia Romam." * 

* A compound of butler, yalet, and clerk. 

2 In the contrast of cost in those days and our own, the most remarkable of all is the 
difference in servants' wages; and it is curious how much higher the wages of the 
coachman were than those of the other servants. The wages of mechanics and labourers, 
it will be seen, were about half what they are at present. The footman received about 
a fifteenth, and the coachman a fourth part of the current wages of our days; and 
that these were the usual rate of wages is clear, for the Rev. Giles Moore says in his 
Journal, writing in 1685, " I entertained for my yearly servant John Dawes, and I payd 
him his yearly wages, £b Os. Od.** No mention bemg made of clothes. The rector paid his 
servants rather better than the squire, for he bargained with Rose Coleman to give her £3 
per annum. 

* " Spoilers of wealth are luxury and state. 

And wretched want doth on their footsteps wait." 

* " You know my constant love for happy home, 

And with what pain I visit bustling Rome." 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 121 

** June. To the Protestant briefe I gave 10^.^ For my 
tythes, 10*. 2cl. Spent at London, £13 3*. 6d, I gave 
widow Norman and widow King 7*. each. At Ned Lnxford's 
I gave away 10*. 6d. 

" For a quarter of malt, £1. 5 quarts of brandy, 5*. Half 
an ell of cloth, 3*. Weaving 30 yards of diaper, £2 5*. 

" August. For the keep of two calves, at 6d. a week, 5*. 6d. 
20 bushels of white peas, £3. 4 pullets, 4*. 3 ducks, 1*. 6d, 

" Sept. For 6 bushels of wheat, 17*. ^d.^ Chimney money, 
15*. Half a lb. of cod's tongues, 1*. 2d. ; and for 4 stone of 
cod fish, 4*. 6d. 4 weanyer pigs, £1 8*. 

" I spent at Lewes and Comb, £1 10*. ; and at Highden, 
10*.^ 

" Dec. I layed out in London £19 7*. 9d. I gave to the 
poor, £1 5*. 

" The clerk's wages were 8d., but I gave him 4id, more. 
The sexton's wages for my seat, and those I bought of my 
uncle Joe, were 8d, Poor-tax, 7*. 4id. ; church-tax, 1*. 10^. 
I payd Mr. Snatt my half year's tythes, 10*. Sd,, and at Easter 
I sent him my offering, 10*.® 

" Summa totius anni . £314 11*. 7^^." 

* The revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the year before, had driven, it is said, as many 
as 70,000 French Protestants into England, the greater number of whom were in a state 
of destitution. This collection made for their support, and repeated for several successive 
years, was general ; and notwithstanding every effort made by James II to frustrate the 
object, the appeal was most liberally responded to. " Perhaps," says Macaulay, " none 
of the munificent subscriptions of our own age has borne so great a proportion to the 
means of the nation." The sum subscribed, free from all deductions, amounted to 
40,000/. 

^ The average price of wheat this year was £1 lOs. 2d, the quarter. 

^ The giving vails to servants, which was then the common practice, will account for 
his large expenditure at the houses of his friends. Comb and Highden were the residences 
of his relations, the Bridgers and the Gorings. On a later occasion, in 1699, he records the 
fees, but not the place in which he paid these vails, when it is clear he included the whole 
household in his donations. ** Mr. Johnson, lOs. 9d, (half a guinea) ; chambermayd, lOs. ; 
cook, 10«. ; coachman, 5». ; butler, 5a. ; chief gardener, 5*. ; under-cook, 2«. 6d. ; boy, 
2s. 6d. ; under-gardener, 2a. 6d. ; nurse, 28. 6d. : total, £3 Oa. 9d." 

8 Easter offerings were generally paid. " All my Esther offerings," says Giles Moore, 
" were clearly worth to me this yeare 1659, £2. The persons who gave me above the 
ordinary allowance were Mrs. Board, 10*., Mrs. Culpepper, 10«., the rest of the family, 5*., 
and Mr. Jordan, 2*." 



122 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BUREELL, ESQ. 




4= 




1687. 

" 28th March. I spent at Lewes, 15^. To Dr. White, 10^., 
and to Fishenden the apothecary, 5^. 

" April. Chimney money, 15^. Claret, 1^. 6cl. ; Rhenish, 7^. 
I spent at London, £9. 

" Jime. Spent at London, £11 16^. Gave GuUiver, to get 
him out of gaole, 2^. 6d. Jo. Hall's wages for the yeare, £6. 

" I payd John Holford, for his two years' wages, due on the 
1st, £3, and I gave him £2 for excusing his Uvery this year. 

" I bought of Sir Harbord Whalley two coach geldings for 
£35, and I gave the maa who brought them from Maudlyn 
faire, near Winchester, 10*. I bought another coach gelding 
of Vinabo, of Chayley, for £10. 

" 1st August. I spent, in my journey to Comb, 18*., and 
I lost 8*. at cards there. Payd Harry Bridger the legacy given 
him by my father, £5. 

" Oct, To the apothecary for bleeding, l*.^ 

" For a spinning-wheel, 2*. 6d., and for spinning 6 lb. of 
hemp, 4i8.^^ Tobacco, 1*. For making my breeches, 8*. 

" Nov. Spent at London, £12 10*. 

"Dec. Tythes, 10*. Sd. Fiddlers, 6d. Howlers," 1*. 
To the poor of the parish, £1 3*. Qd. For hanging the 
bell, 2*. The bell, wood, and iron weighed 66 lb, Chunney 
money, 15*. I gave aunt Salter £5. Spent at Lewes and 
Comb, £1 13*. I bought 50 herrings for 1*. 9d. 

" Feb. 2d. For diggmg 21 rods, at 2d. a rod, 3*. 6d:' 

Then follows a list of presents which were sent to him by 
his friends and neighbours, rich and poor, during the course 
of the year. The following are specimens, as it would be 
tedious to give the whole list : " Stephen Comber, two quarts 
of mead and two green geese ; Mrs. Edwards, one dozen and 
half of lobsters ; Mrs. Snatt, two dozen of China oranges ; 
Sir John Morton, haimch of venison ; Mr. Warden, two days' 
work with his team ; brother P. Burrell, hamms, plumms, 

' There are other notices of this habit of being bled every spring and autumn. 

^^ About the same price paid by Giles Moore to widow Ward, thirty years before — ^viz. 
at the rate of lOd. per lb. 

" These are the boys who went round on New Year's Eve wassailing the orchards. Tor 
an account of them see Suss. Arch. CoUectionSf Vol. I, p. 110. 




JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 123 

and sweetmeats ; Mr. Board, a haunch of venison ; brother 
P. Burrell, two dozen bottles of claret ; J. Pelham, half a bushel 
of oysters ; sister Emma Charlton, a pott of cocks (woodcocks) 
one dozen and a half/' Besides these, there arrived geese, 
capons, pigs, and game from his poorer neighbom^, among 
whom Mr. Griffith sends him four chickens, cockerells. 

"March 24th. Church tax, lid. Letter, 4d. 9 ells-of 
Holland, £1 4^. I spent at East Grinstead, £1 2^. 

" The value of the wheat, oates, barley, malt, peas, tares, 
hemp, pigs, turkeys, and geese brought from Stoneham, was 
£12 14^. 9d, 

" Summa totius anni . £294 18^. 6rf." 

1688. 

" April. I sent Mr. Snatt my Easter offering, 10^. 

"1st May. Mycharriotcost£28; 
two liveries, £5 4^. Spent at Lon- 
don, £24 18*. 6d. French Pro- 
testants, 10*. Chimney money, 
15*.^^ Poor tax, 11*. Spent at 
Grinstead, £1 2*. P** Gosmark for tending Mary 3 weeks, 6*. 

" July. I sent 40 lbs. of black cherries to Highden, 11*. 

" Oct. 1st. I spent, in my journey to Ludford, £35. Gave 
the ringers, when I came home, on the 25th, 2*. 6d. Lord 
Bergavenny's rent, £1 10*. Tythes, 10*. Sd. Dr. White, 
£1 10*. Apothecary's bill, £1 3*. 

"Dec. To the poor of the parish, £1 6*. Fiddlers, 1*. French 
Protestants, 6*. Thanksgiving, 5*. Church tax, lid. Letters 
for two years, 5*.^^ P^Tydy for 2 bushels of wheat, 12*. 6d.^^ 
" Summa totius anni . £323 9*. 6d.'' 

The value of wheat, oats, barley, malt, peas, tares, hogs, 

^ This was the last year of that obnoxious tax, Chimney Money, or Hearth Money. 
By the Ist Will, and Mary, it was declared that the " revenue of Hearth or Chimney 
Money was grievous to the people of England, by occasioning many difficulties and ques- 
tions, a great oppression to the poorer sort, and a badge of slavery to the whole people, 
exposing every man's house to be entered and searched at pleasure by persons unknown to 
them, and therefore it was abolished for ever." The net income derived from the tax was 
not more than £200,000/. (Macauky.) 

^ Twopence was the charge for each letter sent by post, if the distance did not exceed 
eighty miles, and 3d. if it did. Mr. Burrell's correspondence probably fairly represented 
that of other gentlemen of his day. 

" The average price of wheat this year was £2 0«. lOd. 



124 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

pigs, pullets, turkeys, eggs, ducks brought from Stoneham, 
was £23. 

Among the presents sent to him this year, which were com- 
paratively few in number, sister T. Burrell sends him 4 lbs. of 
new butter ; sister Emma Charlton, as usual, a pot of wood- 
cocks and two cheeses ; and his brother Peter sends him a 
hamper, with 24 bottles of Rhenish. 

1689. 
« 25th March. Tythes, 10^. Sd. Offering, 10*. To Dr. 
White, for attending my wife, £2 ; and to Jude, of Lewes, for 
bleeding her, 10*. To John Warden, for holding Washington 
Court, £1 0*. 4id. To Plow, the horse-rider, for riding the 
chestnutt colt, 15*. 

" 23d May. I paid, for 3 years' lord's rent, due to Sir 
James Morton,^^ of Slaugham, for a farm in Hurstperpoint, 
called Pookryde, 12*.^® King's tax, 4*. 

" June. I payd the mowers for 11 acres, at 20d, an acre, 

18*. 9d, ; and to Gosmark and his 
boy, for haying, 23 dayes, £1 3*. 6d. 
To Nan Gosmark, for haying, 8 days, 
4*. To the excise boy, for 6 dayes 
haying, 4*.^^ 

" Thos. Godsmark came to me as footman, at the wages of 
30*. p' an., with coat, breeches, and hat. 

" Dec. 26th. Christmas boxes, howlers, 4*. 6d. To the 
poor, £1 5*. King's tax, 4*. bd. Poll tax, £3 2*. John 
Coachman's poll money, 7*." 

The wheat, oats, barley, malt, &c. brought from Stoneham, 
were worth £24. 

^ Sir James Morton married Ami, co-heiress of Sir John Covert, Bart., who was the 
last male representative of that ancient family. On his death Sir John Morton succeeded 
in right of his wife to the manor of Slaugham. He had two sons, the youngest of whom 
sold the property to Charles Sergison, Esq., in whose family it still remains. 

^^ There are many farms and closes in Sussex which owe their names to their having 
heen the reputed haunts of feuries — such as Pookryde, Pookboume, Pookhole, Pookcroft. 
The sharpened end of the seed-vessel of the wild geranium, called by the common people 
Pookneedle, probably originally meant the Fairy's Needle. 

^ The price for mowing an acre of grass would now be about 3». 6<i, a man's wages 
for haying, 2s., a woman's, 1«. a day, beer being allowed. A comparison of the wages 
and prices of our days, and those of Mr. Burrell, shows that the condition of the poor is 
much better now than then. 




JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 125 

Among many presents received this year he mentions half 
a buck from Lady Goring ; a haimch of venison from William 
Board, Esq. ; 10 teale and 6 tame pigeons from Sir H. Goring ; 
pigs, geese, and a peacock from others ; and 3 dozen and 3 
pigeons from Major Bridges. 

1690. 

" June. Spent in London, £24 5^. Rent for Ockenden, 
10^. Tax for £1600, £8. 2 quarters' land-tax, 15^. 9d. 
Tax for my poll and my wife, £5 2^. Tax for practice, 
£4 lOs. 

" I spent at London £17 14^. For a dozen lbs. of flax, 8^. 
9 galons of vinegar, Is. 6d. 

" 10th Sept. King William's return, 1^. Bells and bond- 
fires, 1^. 6d. Sacrament, Is. Poor tax for Ockenden, 11^. 
I gave Mally my brother Leighton's debt, £23.^® 

Payd 4*^ part of king's tax, 15*. 9d. Gave the poor £1 6^. 
Militia, 5^.^^ 

" John Piecomb came as footman, at 30^. 
p' an. and a livery. Anne Baker came as cook, 
at 50*. 

" P** Goldsmark and his son for digging the 
bean plats, about 36 rods, at 2d. p' rod, 6*. ; it 
took 5 days. P^ Edwards for 18 rods of hedge and ditch, at 
Sd. the rod, and 2d. i for stubs, 4*. lOrf." ^o 

Among the presents of the year he receives a side of venison, 
half a buck, a loaf of double-refined sugar, 2 lbs. of chocolate, 
a pot of woodcocks, and two cheeses ; a rundlet of wine and 
gloves ; several sugar loaves, ducks, capons, pullets, game, a 
pottle bottle of mead, and other small tributes from his poorer 
neighbours. 

^ His brother Ldghton was Edward Leighton, created a baronet two years later ; he 
married a daughter of Sir Job Charlton, Mr. BurreU having married another. The Leigh- 
tons were of a very ancient family in Shropshire. They do not appear to have been in any 
way related to Archbishop Leighton. 

^ Every man possessed of an estate of iS500 a year, or of iS6000 personal estate, was 
obhged to provide and equip one horseman ; and every one who had £50 a year, or iS600 
personal property, one pikeman or musketeer. 

^ The wages of labour had gradually increased, for Giles Moore, thirty years before, 
had paid for sixteen rods of hedging at the rate of twopence a rod. 




126 JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

1691. 

" May. I gave Mally £45. 

" June. Spent at London, £27 15^. ; and again, £13 6^. 

'* July. Spent at London, £28 13^. 9d., and at Tunbridge 
Wells, in 5 days, £2 2*. For 10 quarts of brandy, 10^., and 
3 quarts of sack, 6*. 

" For 28 lbs. of hops I gave 7*- 




^^^P " Two hats for my fellows' liveries, 10^.^^ 
''^^ " Dec. Gave the poor £1 5^. Tinmouth briefe, 

2*. Offering, 10*. 

" I payd Jack Piecomb in full of his quarter s wages, 7s. 6d. 

To mend his coat and breeches, 1*., and to buy stockings, 

1*. 6dr 

This year Mr. Burrell, for the first time, invites a number 
of his humbler neighbours to dine with him at Christmas ; a 
list of them, amounting to about 30, and their wives, and the 
bill of fare, which was most abundant, will be found in a 
future page. Two dioners were generally given, on the 1st 
and 2d of January, and were never oiiiitted, excepting in the 
year when he lost his wife. 

Among the presents received this year, including venison, 
teal, and many other good things, Alfred Savage sends him 
Adams's Map of England, and Savage's sister a fat chicken 
and cider.*^ 

^ In these da^rs of fiuicifiQ hats, his fellows' hats proye the truth that old fashions are 
perpetually revolving and turning up again. In Stubbe's * Anatomie of Abuses' there is a 
curious passage on this matter written in 1585 : *' Sometimes/' the writer says, ^Hhey 

wore their hats sharpe in the crowne, perking up like the spire or shaft of a steeple 

Othersome be flat and broade in the crowne, like the battlements of a house ; another sorte 
have roimd crownes, sometimes with one kinde of bande, sometimes with another, now 
black, now white, now russet, now greene, now yellowe, now this, now that ; never con- 
tent with one colour or fashion two dales to an ende And as the fashions be rare 

and strange, so is the stuffes whereof the hats are made ; for some are of silke, some of 
velvet, some of wool, some ci taffetie, and which is the more curious, some of a certaine 
klnde of fine haire, which they call Bever, of 20, 30, or 40 shillings a piece, and so com- 
mon a thing it is, that every serving-man, countryman, and others, doe weare them. 
Another secte, as phantastical as the rest, are content with noe kinde of hat without a 
bundle of feathers of divers and sundrie colours perking on the top of their heads." 
(Archieologia, vol. xxiv, p. 170.) 

« Before Mr. Burrell's time Mr. Justice Stapley did all the law m this part of the 
world, and these were golden days for justices, when they could do a little business on 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRBLL, ESQ. 127 

1692. 

" 26th March. Sacrament, 1^. I gave to the poor 4^., and 
in soup, &c., 3^. Spent in London, £55 13^. 6d. . In small 
things, 9*. 6d, Ann Baker married ; I gave her 2*. 6d. 

"EdwardVirgoe came Promo, Condo, Clerico, Camerarius, at 
£3 p'an. I paid forwaUing the honseof ofl5ce. Is. 6d. <x/> 



® 




Paid Green for a new jack, £1 10^. 6fi?., and 
he is to keep the wheels and the pnlly in good 
order for 6d. a year. 

"Paid the chandler for 12 dozen of candles, | 

£2 8^. Q 

,...,. Oct. 17. Payd Hollybone, for setting 

I r(rf[i ] ^ the old pales by the orchard at the pond, 
at lOd. p' rod, which was a little too much, 
for he worked 3 days but gently, 4^. 

" I paid Jo. Warden, for 30 bushels of malt, 
being just 4 months, £4 3*. 

" Gave JenniDgs, for a pyke, which weighed 
20 lbs., 5^. 9d 

" Spent at London, £54 3^. 

" I paid John Coachman, part of his wages in money, and 
14 lbs. of wool, 10^. 

"Dec. I bought 15 bushels of wheat of P. Gourthope, at 
6^. a bushel.^^ TVote. Beard offered the best wheat to cousin 
Board, at Lewes, for Qs. I gave Jack Piecomb, to mend his 
breeches, Is. 6d. Spent at Highden and Danny, £2 18*. 
Poll tax, £1 9*. 6d. King's tax, 8*. 6d 

" 2d Jan. I and my wife, my man Edward Virgoe, and 

their own account. " He," (Mr. Justice Stapley) says GUes Moore in 1673, " drew up all 
the articles concerning Matt's marriage, I payed him £1 lOa. for my share, Mr. Citizen 
paying as much for his." And again, in another case, he says, ** I again wante Mr. Justice 
Stapley, and then asking his sons some Latin questions, I gave them each 5a. I payd his 
clerk for a subpoena 3«., for a parchment and engrossing the bill Ss., and to Mr. Stapley 
for his council and for drawing the bill, £1 5«. To Mrs. Stapley I lost 1«. at cards." 
That Counsellor BurreU had succeeded to Mr. Justice Stapley's business, would appear 
from the following extract from his relation's diary. ** I received the above settlement at 
the Crown inn in Cuckfield, where were the writings of ye Westlands, then sealed in the 
presence of Timothy BurreU, Stephen Wood, and Edward Virgoe. Paid 30«. to Mr. 
Burrell, and 15«. spent. The case of the rector of Horsted Keynes does not bear out Mr. 
Macaulay in Ms representation of the character of the clergy of this day : he was a man 
of independent spirit ; his library was large and valuable, for not a third of the books he 
bought are specified in the " Extracts from his JoumaL" 
23 The average price of wheat this year was £2 Is. 5f rf. the quarter. 



128 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

maid Phillips, went to sojourn with my brother Peter Burrell ;^* 
and I and Virgoe came away into the country on the 17th 
March, my time there being just 6 weeks. My wife and her 
maid came from P. Burrell's on the 10th April, her time there 
being just 11 weeks ; £17." 

The presents received this year include, among many other 
good things, a cheese, excellent, from Richard Tayler, 4 cheeses, 
called Albemarles, from his sister Comwallis, a dozen bottles 
of white wine from P. Courthope, 2 oranges and 2 lemons 
from J. Warden, &c. &c. ; but no venison arrived this year. 

1693. 

" March 26th. 1 payd Frances Smith all her wages due to 
this day, £2, and discharged her, she being a notorious thief. 

" For carding 13 lbs. of wool, 3^. 4id. ; weaving 21 yards of 
cloth, 11*. ; scouring and fulling, 7*. 

" I spent at the assizes at East Grinstead £1 5*.^ Sir 
Chris' Lewis, £1. 

" I payed for 8 bushels of wheat £2 8«., and 28 bushels of 
oats, £2 Us.^^ 

" 11th May. Spent at London, £26. For holland, drugs, 
and chocolate for Mally, £3 4^. Poor tax, 10^. 

^ Peter Burrell was the ninth son of Walter Burrell ; he married Isabella, daughter of 
John Merrik of Essex, by whom he had two sons, Peter and Merrik, and three daughters. 
Peter, the eldest son, was deputy-governor of the South Sea Company, and Member for 
Haslemere. He married Amy, daughter of Hugh Raymond, Esq., of Langley, in Kent. 
His son Peter was surveyor-general of the Crown lands ; he married the eldest daughter 
of John Lewis, Esq., of Hackney ; they had one son and four daughters. Peter the son 
married Priscilla, Baroness Willoughby of Eresby, eldest daughter of Peregrine, Duke of 
Ancaster. Eliza Ameha married Richard Bennett, Esq. • Isabella Susanna married 
Algernon, Earl of Beverley. Frances Julia married Hugh, Duke of Northumberland ; and 
Eliza Ann married Douglas, Duke of Hamilton. An instance of noble marriages not to be 
paralleled, probably, in the family of any other commoner. 

^ The assizes for Sussex in those days, and indeed to a comparatively late period, were 
held alternately at East Grinstead and Horsham, and in the smnmer at Lewes. The 
Sussex roads were so wretchedly bad, that the judges in winter stopped at the first towns 
they came to in the county, jurymen, prosecutors, and witnesses finding their way to the 
assize town as they best might* 

» A good bargain, for the average price this year was £3 0«. Id, a quarter, and with 
this year commenced a succession of bad harvests, which continued for seven years ; they 
were known by the name of the barren years ; the scarcity was severely felt throughout 
all Europe. The average price of wheat in England for the seven years ending with 1699 
was 56*. lOjrf., an immense price, considering the difibrence m the value of money. 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 129 

Note of Taxes pa yd in 1693.'^ 

£ 8. d. 

For Stoneham 31 12 

Nash 12 2 

Pookryde 4 

Ockenden 3 16 

Money, 1600/. .... 19 4 

ii70 14 

" 30th Nov. Spent at London, £45 9^. 6rf. 

" My servant, Edward Virgo, had a new stock and lock sett 

on a fowling-piece of mine, for which he 

payd Green 10*. I agree, when Edw^ Virgo ^ ' " 1 S^^^>^ 
goes from me, either to pay him the 10*., ^^ 

or to let him take the fowling-piece." 

Among many presents received this year, 62 in number, 
there were tenne trouts from Wm. Clarke, Esq., a buck from 
Sir John Shelley, a dozen bottles of wine from P. Courthope, 
a bottle of usquebagh from C. Sergison, Esq., a keg of stur- 
geon, WestphaUa ham, and chocolate, the usual tribute of a 
pot of woodcocks from his sister ComwalUs, a sack of oats and 
a dozen small birds from Alfred Savage. 

1694. 

" 16th April. Marian Hall, footman, came at the wages of 
30*. p' an., and a Kvery once in two years. I laid out for him, 
in part of his wages, for linen sleeves, shoes, hat, and frock, 
17*. 8^. 

" Peter Burrell's boy came to be with me at Ockenden, on 
the 15th of Nov. ; he was carried back the 31st March, 1695. 
The first letter I received was on the 24th Nov. ; I am to pay 
Qd, a letter. 

" I bought a bay gelding for the coach of Thomas Agates, 
4 years old, with a white spot on the wither, and a small white 
spot on the forehead, for £1 2. 

^ In 1692 a yaluation of the land of England was made, and certain payments were 
awarded to each county, hundred, or division, of which the proportions are still retained, 
notwithstanding the great changes which have taken place in the relative value of property. 
It was fixed this year at 4«. in the pound. Mr. Burrell's income, therefore, derived from land, 
was about iS260 a year, equivalent, probably, to three times that sum at present. The 
charge for personal property was 24«. for every 100/. Six per cent, was about the interest 
of money in those days ; his income, therefore, would, from this statement, have been 
about ^£360 a year, besides what he made by his profession ; but in his will he bequeaths 
the rent of several houses in St. Clement's, London, the value of which is not specified. 

m. 9 




130 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

The presents this year came freely in, including half bucks, 
sides, and haunches of venison, crammed pullets, messes of 
Hastings peas, a salt fish, a collar of brawn, half a dozen bottles of 
sack, and the annual present of small birds from John Packham. 

1695. 
" Paid for Gazettes, this day, Ss.^ 
" I had 8 bushels of wheat from 
Col. Bridger, for which I am to pay him 4^. 6d. the bushel.^^ 
It was dusty, musty, and short of measure, so that it was 
not eatable. Mem, He sent me 5 bushels of malt, at 14^. 
the quarter, slack dried. 

" I bought a heyfer of Geer, 3 year old, for £4, and 2 small 
weanyer pigs for 10^. 

" Charge for the hog poimd, 2400 bricks, 
£1 3^. 6d. 3 quarters of a load of lime. 
Is. 6d, Joe Chatfield, for 8 dayes work, 16*. 
For stone, and for other work, £7 7*. 

*' Paid the butcher, £5 12*. 6d. Mem, I 
returned a breast of mutton, but query if he ever crossed it. 

" Invited at Christmas Jo. Attree, Henry Ives, Robert 
Chatfield, Chaa. Savage, Thos. Burtenshaw, Stephen Comber, 
Walter Gatland, Walter Burt, George Jennings, W. Sanders, 
W. Winpenny, Jo. Chatfield, Widow Swayne, Jo. Holford, 
Thos. Canon, W. Robrough, W. Heasman, Thos. Uwins, 
Thos. Agates, Jo. Warden, Alf. Savage, Rd. Virgo, W. West, 
Thos. Mathers, Thos. Tydy." 

** Frigoiibus parto agricoUe plerumque fruuntur, 
Mutuaque inter se laeti convivia curant. 
Invitat genialis hyems, curasque resoMt.'' (Viro. Geo.y lib. i.)^ 

^ The first official Gazette ever published appeared in 1665, and was called the ' Oxford 
Gazette/ from the fact that the first numbers issued from thence, the court being resident 
there, on account of the plague. It came out twice a week. The ' London Gazette' is its 
lineal descendant. The etymology of the word * gazette' is curious, being derived from 
' gazza,' a magpie : hence *■ gazetta,' a little chatterer, a paper which gives all the news. 
(Voc. Delia Crusca.) 

29 This gentleman who took him in in the matter of the wheat, lived at Comb, near 
Lewes; he was colonel of the Sussex militia, member of Parliament for Lewes, and 
brother-in-law to Mr. Burrell, havmg married his sister ; he died in 1691, aged eighty-one. 
^ *' In genial winter svfrains enjoy then: store, 
Forget their hardships, and prepare for more ; 
The farmer to frill bowls invites his guests. 
And what he got with pains, with pleasure spends." Drtden. 



JOUENAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 



131 



The presents were of the usual sort, 55 in number, from 
the half buck from Sir Charles Goring, down to the dishes of 
beans and carrots from his poorer neighbours. 

1696. 

"April 1st. Quarter's tax for £1100, £3 6^. 'For land, 
15*. Payd Philips in full of her wages, £1 10*., and I gave 
her 20*. over. Paid the tax due on his marriage, £5 2*. 6d. 

** FQia jam nata est mea sera et sera voluptas, 
Solamenque mali.^ 



" My daughter 
on Thursday, 25th 
hour after 10 of the 
was baptized on 
My brother P. Bur- 
godfather, my Lady 
and my niece Jane 




Elizabeth BurreUwas bom 
June, 1696, about half an 
clock in the forenoon. She 
Monday, 15th February, 
rell (by Wm. Board, Esq.) 
Gee (by my sister Parker), 
Burrell, godmothers. 




'^ 'H ^v<n^ TOi^ irarpaa-L tou9 TraiBa^ fiaWov fj roi^ iraun tow 
iroTpa^ eiriraTTei <f>i\£ivJ^ '* (Lucian.) 

Est mihiy sitque precor nostris diuturnior annis 
FUia, qii& felix sospite semper ero.^ 

" 22d Aug. Paid HaU's wages in goods and in money, 10*. 

" 29th, 31st. Two ew legs of mutton sent — ^if the butcher 
be honest! 

"Oct. 15th. Paid the first window tax.^* 
For the poor tax, 16*. 6d, To Mr. Middleton, 
for half a year's rent for Sandboumes, £4 10*.'* 

Presents flowed freely in, beginning with 2 chickens and 
peas, 12 chickens and raspis ; a buck and 10 mullets from Sir 
H. Goring, half a buck from Sir J. Pelham, two dozen pigeons 

8^ " A child is bom, my late, my only joy. 
My comforter in grief." 
Hi8 wife died in her confinement, and was buried on the 3d of Febroary. 

^ '^ It is the nature of parents to love their children more than children loTe their 
parents.'' This law of nature has been well compared to that of gravitation. 
® I have a child, O may she long survive 
Her happy father, happy should she live ! 
His prayer was not heard ; she died when she was about twenty years of age. 

^ What his feelings were in paying this tax, is sufficiently indicated by the etching. 
The poor-tax had increased in eleven years from 11«. to 16«. 




132 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

from Col. Bridger, two dozen of wine, sack, and claret from 
Mr. Lyddale ; two capons and a caponet, a loin of pig pork, a 
basket of pear royals, and two swans from cousin Middleton. 

1697. 

" April 21st. P** Mathers the tax on the birth of my daugh- 
ter and the burial of my dear wife, £6 6^.^^ P^ John Coach- 
man on his wages, £5, and further more of free will, 10^. 

" P^ George Jennyns the tax for the whole year for £2086 
in money, £26. For mine and my daughter's poU, 8s, Sd. 
For my stock, worth £50, 6^. For my land, at 48. in the 
pound, £4 45. Total, £30 18^. 

" For 10 bushels of tares, £1 10«. For 10 lb. of chocolate, 
by sister Kit Goring, £1 13^. Paid Hannah Long, alias 
Virgo, her two years' wages, £10. 

" 23d Aug. I sold J. Holford a red cow 
for £8 6^. 8d, ; if she don't weigh 20 stone a 
quarter, I intend to take only £8 for her. 

" I invited no guests this Christmas, but I invited, on the 
Sundays, Will Gatland, Henry Ives, and others." 

After recording the many presents received this year, which 
(with the important exception of venison, which was altogether 
omitted) were of the usual character, he gives his opinion of 
presents in general in the following quotation from Seneca : 
" Quidam cum aliquid illis missum est munusculum, subinde 
aliud intempestive remittunt, et nihil se debere testantur. 
Rejiciendi genus est protinus aliud invicem mittere, et mimus 
munere expungere.^^ (Lib. de Beneficiis, cap. 40.) 

^ Elizabeth Burrell was buried at Cuckfield on the 8th February, and the followmg cer- 
tificate appears in the parish register : ** She was not buried in woollen, but in hnnen, and 
this was certified to Stanning, the churchwarden, on the 15th.'' For carrying on the war 
with France with vigour, a tax was laid on births, marriages, and deaths. Eyery person, 
paupers excepted, paid 2«. on the birth of a child, a duke paid iS30, other peers £2b ; 
every esquire or reputed esquire, £5, every gentleman 20*. The tax on burials was £4 ; a 
duke or duchess, or rather their executors, paid £50, a marquis £40, an earl £30, a gen- 
tleman £20. In the present instance Mr. Burrell appears to have been taxed for one 
event as an esquire, and as a gentleman for the other. These taxes were imposed only 
for five years, and, as might be expected, were never renewed. 

" " Some persons, whenever any little present is sent to them, immediately reply to it 
unseasonably with another ; thus showing that they will be under no obligation. This 
mutual interchange, this wiping out of one present by another, is one way of rejecting 
them altogether.'' 




JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 133 

1698. 

" 26th April. Thomas Goldsmith came as c^ 
footman, at 30^. per an. wages, and a livery ^^^^===^::i5^ 
coat and waistcoat once in two years, when he 
was to have a new one ; but being detected in theft, I turned 
him away on the 21st August. After a ramble to London, 
being almost starved, he came again as footman 25th March, 
1703, at £4 per an., one livery coat and breeches in two 
years ; if he went away at the end of the first year, he was 
to leave his livery coat behind him. I paid Sharp for his 
shoes 4^. ; for making his waistcoat, 2^.; stockings, 1^. Qd.; 
breeches, 3^. 6d, ; hat, 4^. Sarah Creasy came as cook, at the 
wages of 55^. p' an. 

" 8th Oct. Payd John Coachman, in fall of his half 
year's wages, to be spent in ale, £2 6^. 6d. I paid 
him for his breeches (to be drunk) in part of his 
wages) Qs. 

" Mem. The three first Plying Posts were brought to me 
by Chatfield, the carrier, on the 12th Nov.^^ 

" Christmas. 

" Res est sacra miser. (Sen.) Lord's rent.^^ 

" To the poor at Christmas, £3 lO^.^^ To a fire at New- 
bury, 2^. Anne Chaloner, 2^. To Mrs. Payne, her rent, 10^. 
For 11 yarcls of Worcester frieze and materials for two coats 
for Edw** Luxford and T. BurreU, £2 6^. 6d. A seaman 
wrecked. Is. Protestants, £5. To a man in prison, 2^. 
For the gallery, £1 . Mad Parson Perking, 2*. Mad May- 
nard, 1^. 

^ The reader may form some oi»moii of the character of this newspaper from the 
following annomicement of it. " If any gentleman has a mind to oblige his country 
friend or correspondent with his accouit of public affairs, he may have it for 2d, of 
J. Salisbury, at the * Rising Sun,' Comhill, on a sheet of fine paper, half of which being 
blank, he may write his own private business, or the material news of the day." 

38 " The mis^-able man is a sacred thing." 

* A few only of his many acts of charity will be mentioned, as a larger detail would be 
very tedious. It is remarkable how many insane persons are the objects of his liberality. 
It would seem that they wandered much about the country in those days. 



134 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 





" I bought of Thos. Uwings 20 bushels of 
good clean wheat, to be delivered at £6 lOs.^ 
F for poll tax, 3 q"- £1 1*. For my daughter, 
1*. For £1600 money, 4 q"- £3 13*. 
" March 24th. I paid Rebecca Jup her wages, £2 9*. ; a 
bad servant. To Bee at parting, 1*." 

Among the presents of the year were a dozen bottles of 
Burgundy from Christopher Montague, Esq., 6 bottles of 
brandy from sister Goring, 2 dozen of claret from Sir Bichard 
Raynes, a gallon of verjuice from Stephen Comber, 17 pigeons 
from Mr. Bridger, half a buck from Sir H. Goring, pykes, 
perches, and eeles from Lady Morton, &c. &c. 

1699. 
" Paid my nurse two guineas in part of her 
year's wages, to be ended 29th Jan., £2 3*. *^ 

" P* for digging and steyning a well, 21 feet deep, £1 15«. 
The smith's work came to £4 9«. Paid Dum- 
brell, on his paling, at 2d. p' rod, 

ao*. 

" It appears, by the church clerk's books, that 
Ockenden pays him by the year, for wages, but 
Sd,, and no more, though I have voluntarily 
subscribed a paper to pay Edw^ Stammer, the 
present clerk, by the year, 2«. The sexton's 
wages are but half as much as 
the clerk's, that is to say, 4d. 
though I give him more.*^ 

" I gave my niece, Frances Bridger £5. 

** The average price of wheat this year was as high as 60*. 9d, the quarter. 

*^ It is curious that Mr. Stapley in his Journal, written at the same time, values his 
guineas at 22*. each. {Suss. Arch, CoU,, Vol. II, p. 124). From the sketch of the jug 
it would seem that Mr. Burrell suspected his nurse of the besetting sin of the Sarah 
Gamp school, but that he repented of his suspicions. 

^ There are no such regular wages paid to clerks and sextons in our days. They are 
paid fixed salaries out of the church-rates, and by fees at the several offices of the church. 

^ " Ungracious is the favour which is slow of foot." 





JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 



136 




" Ingratum est beneficium quod diu inter manus dantis 
haesit, nam qui tarde fecit, diu noluit." (Sen.)** 

" To mad Parson Perking, 2^. 6d. Ned Luxford, 5«. Thos. 
Burrell, £1. Juveni mutum se simulanti dedi, 6t?., et cuidam 
se pro nauta obtendenti et captivo sed falso ut opinor, Is. 
Alms given to one imworthy are given ov t© av0p(OTr(o oKKa tcd 
afiOpooirtvo), *^ 

" Paid to John Coachman, in part of his wages, 
to be fooled away in syder or lottery, 5^. 

" Christmas. 

"-4€i voiiifyvO 01 7rew7T69 rov 0€ov^^ Lord's rent. To the 
poor, £3 7^. Qd Boys' boxes, 4*. 8d. Old Potter, 1^. Ned 
Luxford, 10*. Nan Chaloner, 2*. I gave my godson Luxford a 
coat, 10«. French school, 2*. To the poor at sacrament, 1*." 

The presents sent to him this year were nearly fifty in 
number, including venison, fish, stubble geese, capons, pullets, 
pigs, down to a gaUon of turnips and a gallon of vinegar. 
His nephew, T. Burrell, of Slaugham, sends him a cock and 
a fieldfare.*^ 

1700. 

"April 2d. Twobla<;k 
geldings, 5 years old this 
spring, each 15 hands 
high, with a small star in 
the forehead, and two 
white feet behind ; all the rest of the body black. I bought 
them of Rob. Clements, of Wantage, in Berkshire, and their 
price was £34. They were procured for me by W"" Nelson, 
Esq., to whom I payd the money. I gave John Grindle, the 
saddler's boy, for bringing the horses, £1 9*. 6d. Clement's 
servant, 5*. 

" I paid Lashmar, carpenter, for 36 days' work at Chownes 

^ " Thankless is the gift which has long stuck to the hands of the giver ; for he who 
has heen tardy in giving^ has long wished not to give.'' 
^ " Not for the sake of the man, hut for the sake of human nature.'^ 
^ " The Lord ever careth for the poor.*' 

*7 « Turdus, 

Sive aliud privum dahitur Uhi, devolet illuc 
Res ubi magna nitet, Domino sene." 




136 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 



^^ 




.X bam, 28 6d. p' diem. To his journeyman, 24 

tv \^ days' work, at 20d. p' diem ; and to his appren- 

yj / tice, 41 days, at 1*. p' diem. Jack Packham hath 

^^^ worked at Chownes 18 days. I paid him for his 

work £1. For beer, bread, and cheese, at the 

reaiing of the bam, 7*.*® 

'* May. For two smocks for Nan West, 5*. A chip 
hat, 1*. 6d. 2 blew aprons, 2*. 6d. Mending her 
>- fingers, 28. 6d, New shoes, 2«. 2d. 
" P** John the Coachman, in full of his year's wages, £4 3«. 
I payd him 28. 6d. for Thos. Gates, for a goos, but e^ 
he kept it for ale; and to widow Goldsmith, for /^^J 
mending his stockings, l8. Qd. I ^m 

" Oct. T. B., a bucking. *» Mem. I washed 
in soap; bought blew, 1«. They formerly 
used only l^d. worth of blew, which would 
have been sent for as they used to do, and 
then they spent 1*. at 5 washings ; but how 
will it be now ? Tis better to buy as we want, 
than by wholesale, and so it is with soap, &c. I payd for lb 
stone of hard soap, at 2*. 2d. the dozen, £1 6^. 

" Payd Dumbrell, for a horse to carry clothes 
on, 2^. 6d. 

^iD (^^ r^ <^ " ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^y &^^^> ^^- ^^• 

^ ^-' ^^ ^ " To the poor at Christmas, £3. Mad 
woman and child, Qd. Widow Weeks, 10*. Bermondsey 
briefe, 2*. 

" Paid for 10 chord of wood, at 4*. 6d. 
a chord." 



^ Giles Moore, forty years before, in 1659, says, " To John Gower, carpenter, for one 
day's worke for his man and himselfe, I payd 3«. l<f., which was Id. extraordinary." 
And as to the mason, he says, ** I have agreed with John Blakiston, mason, that hee and 
his son and boy are to give mee one dayes worke for theyr victuals, and 1*. more, which 
I am to pay them at the earning." 

^ This was an important domestic event in those days, particularly so the great general 
washing, which included all the linen of the house, which took place rarely, once or twice 
in the year — ^this was called driving or bucking, derived from the Saxon word * hue,' 
which means a vessel for water. A lye was used by pouring boiling water upon wood 
ashes, on which sometimes herbs and soapwort were placed. This plan of a general 
wasliing is still in use in the country houses in France. 






JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 137 

Among many other presents, he receives this year, from 
Wm. Gatland, a leveret and vinegar ; half a buck, and 10 
quart bottles of Burgundy from the Gorings, a turkey cock, 
&c. &c., from others. 

1701. 

" May 2d. I payd Ned Virgo, in full of ,:^^ 
his wages, for two years, due the 26th of ^ ^ 
this month, at London, £8; and Mary 
Slater her wages, £2 1 0«. For physick for Nan West, 1 3*. 6d, ; 
3 flaxen shifts for her, 10*. ; stuffe for her gowne and petti- 
cote, 12*. 9d. ; and for making the gowne, 2*.®^ 

" 17th June. I agreed with Sam. Hyder for 2 quarters of 
good bright wheat, for £2 14*., to be deUvered to the miller. 
I payd Old Edwards, for mowing the Upper Mead, the Marl- 
pit Field, 3 Acre Field, Little HoUy Field, Great HiUy Field, 
in all 14 acres 1 rood, at 1*. Sd. the acre, £1 4*. 

" Oblatum mihi pro consilio Ellyotto More remisi, 10*; 
atque iterum respui aurum EUyotti More, et considui ex 
gratis. Oblatum mihi a J. Anscomb, praemum ob consilium 
in suo negotio condonavi. 

" To Mrs. Robrough, for 6 yards and ^ of 
flannel, which will make 3 flannel waistcoats, 
13*. Sd 

Hony. 





" Of widow Weeks, 6 quarts of hony ; of Margaret Janett, 
8 quarts ; and of others, 18 quarts : in all, 32 quarts, £2 8*. 9d. 

" Coeli tempore certo 
Dulda mella premes, nee tantum dulcia quantum, 
Et liquida et durum Bacchi domitura saporem." ^^ 

ViRQ. Geor, IV. 

^ Nan West's flaxen shifts would now cost about 20«. ; the stuff for her gown and 
petticoat could be bought for about the same price they cost Mr. Burrell ; the making of 
the gown would be about 2«. 6d. 

Si. « For there at pointed seasons hope to press 
Huge heavy honeycombs of golden juice. 
Not only sweet, but pure and fit for use ; 
T' aUay the strength and hardness of the wine, 
And with old Bacchus new metheglin join.'' 

Dryden. 



138 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

" Attica nectoreum tnrbastis mdla Falenram 
Misoeri deoet hoc a Ganymede memm." " 

Martial. 

" Nan Saxby brought 5 quarts, good weight ; she said it 
weighed 3 lbs. and ^ to the quart. If a quart of hony 
weighs 4 lbs. and a half. 

** Aufidius forti miacebat mella Falemo, 
Mendose, quoniam Tacuis committere venis 
Nil msi lene decet, leni pnecordia mulsot 
Protueris melias." Hoa. ^ 

" I put 2 lbs. and a ^ to a gallon of water, and ^ a gallon, 
i. e. 6 quarts, which is still filled up in the boyling, whilst the 
scume rises. There remains 6 quarts of mead, 2 nutmegs, 
a race of ginger, bruised, and boiled in it after the same is all 
gone. Work it up with a spoonfiil of good yeast, and barrell 
it up 10 days." 

In his account of the presents received this year, there is 
the first mention made of tea.^* Mr. Middleton sends him a 
bottle of white wine and tea. There are haslers, haslers, 
haslers, in abundance ; a carp, which weighed 9 lbs. ; six grey 
birds, pigs, capons, pullets, &c. &c. 

" " Rich Attic honey, with Falernian wine, 

Let Ganymede himself such draughts comhine V* 

fis « Aufidius first, most ii\}udicious, quaffed 

Strong wine and honey for his morning draught ; 
With lenient heverage fill your empty veins, 
And smoother mead shall better scour the veins " 

Francis's Hot, 

It is singular that a liquor which was once so great a favourite both in ancient 
and modem times, should have fallen into total disuse among the higher classes. 
" Sir Roger de Coveiley," says the Spectator, (they were walking in the Spring Gardens, 
and Sir Roger was thinking of the widow), *< here fetched a deep sigh, and was falling into 
a fit of musing, when a mask who came behind him gave him a gentie tap on the 
shoulder, and asked him if he would drink a bottle of mead with her.'' (Spectator, 
No. 303.) A country gentleman of the present day would be roused from a fit of musing 
at Yauxhall by an appUcation for something better than mead. 

^ It is curious to observe how slowly that now almost universal comforter, tea, made 
its way into England. Mr. Burrell does not mention it among the items of his accounts, 
Ihough on one occasion he says he gave away three quarters of an ounce ; and yet it was 
certainly known in London in 1661. Pepys says he sent for a cup of tea, a China drink, 
which he had never drank before. 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 



139 



1702. 

" News. 
"3d May. Payd for the prints, to the 5th May, 15*. 4fl?. 
Payd Susan Hawkins, for a year's attendance on my daughter, 

"25th May, Pandoxavi. 12th June, (1|J5 
Rehnivi.** ph 

"July. The bell given /F|i\ nie by my 
niece. Short, weighed j^^^ 118 lbs. 



" Two hind wheels of the coach, made 
by Juniper, cost £1 5*. 






" Shut up two fat hogs. 

" Payd Juniper for a new wheelbarrow, the irons of the 
wheel being my own, 8*. %d. Paid him for a slide, which is 
to be repaired for nothing if they break out, 5*. I payd him 
for putting in a new fore purchass in the coach, 4*. 





" Paid Hen^ Killing, 
for a fish-net, the chords 
and leads being my own, 

8*. 




^ '' I brewed/' '^ I tapped." The reader is not to suppose, from the few notices of this 
kind extracted, that Mr. Burrell was deficient in one of the great attributes of the " fine 
old English gentleman" — a cellar full of ale and beer. In the manuscript, notices of 
brewing occur in every page. But the best proof of this is found in his maltster's bill : 
his four months' consumption of malt being thirty bushels, which was pretty well for so 
small a fEunily. In searching for the meaning of the word * Pandoxavi,' the following 
curious passage in which it occurs was pointed out. At an episcopal visitation which took 
place at Tortington Priory, near Arundel, in 1584, the following presentation was made : 
«< Johannes Gregory, Prior, et septem fratres canonid, Johannes Arundel, Sub-prior, dicunt 
quod ecdesia est aliquantum ruinosa, et quod panis et potus non sunt salubres. Henricus 



140 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURR£LL, ESQ. 

" Ancilla de W°* Robrough brassicam capitatam licentia 
non impetrata nee rogata horto abstulit.** 

>-^V/^ " Payd Robinson, for pruning the trees in the 

court and the gardine, 21*. 





" 14th Sept. Goldsmith de- 
parted my service, by consent, 
this day; on the 24th Oct. 
he repented, and returned, 
half-starved.^^ 
" 23d Jan. Anno currente sexagenarius. 
" Proterve se gessit soror, at me aliquantulum re- 
pressi. 

" 24th. Civibus EUensibus incendio domorum depaupe- 
ratis dedi, 1*.*® 

" 28th. I payd the saddler, in a bill for mending John 
Lord's legs, and in part of his wages, £1 6*. 

" 31st. Ad rem divinam in Ecclesia pomeridianam non 
adftd a nepote meo T. Burrell prgepeditus.^^ 

" 11th Feb. Haemorrhoidum fluxum copiosiorem passus 
sum. 

" Doloribus colicis aliquantulum tentatus. 
" For 12 dozen of candles, at 5*. Qd. per dozen, 
£3 6*. 

" Woolvin de Shermanbury consuluit me de seminatione 
lini supter H. Pelham, anno ultimo.®^ 

Ringwood, canonicus, didt quod coquus et Pandoxator sunt immttiidi et indocti in officio 
Buo." The answer to the iuquiry as to the religious and moral condition of the Priory was 
very short : " Omnia bene" — " All right." In Bayley's Dictionary, the word * pandoxatri ' 
is defined * An alewife, one who brews and sells drink.' The good Samaritan brought his 
neighbour to a * Uav^oKuov* literally, a public-house. 

^ W. Robrough's maidservant came and took a cauliflower out of my garden without 
asking leave or saying anything about the matter. 

^7 The curious hieroglyphic would iatimate that he walked away a single man, and 
brought back a wife ; it is clear he had a wife to whom he proved a very indifferent 
husband. 

58 u My sister was impertinent to me, but I kept my temper pretty well. To the citi- 
zens of Ely, reduced to poverty by a fire, I gave 1*." 

69 « I ^as prevented attending morning service by my nephew, T. Burrell. 

» " Woolvin of Shermanbury consulted me on the point of his sowing flax under his 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 141 

" J. Packham ob quotidianam ebrietatem acriter increpui, 
et per quinquennium, apud me gratis diversantem nee dum 
sobrie et firugaliter se gerentem tandem domo expuli.®^ 

" Doloribus scorbuticis circa femora noctu cruciatus, per 
aerem derepente praegelidum ut opinor excitatus, nive copiose 
cadente. 

" Proterve et cum convitiis rixata est soror mecum, unde 
ipse aliquantulum ne dicam nimis commotus, abinde per tres 
dies diarrhoea levi et termine ventris non perquam gravi, sed 
per modica intervalla affectus, ac etiam haemorrhoidem fluxmn 
modicum passus. Tippingii liquoris bis in dies, et hierae 
picrae semel aut bis haustum coepi.^^ 

" Sororem meam Christianam Goring, et alios ex condicto 
visi apud Slaugham. 

" Cuidam Morel pauperi de Henfield, cujus domus in- 
cendio subitaneo diruta est dedi, 1^., et cuidam Botting de 
Nuthurst pauperi sere alieno involuto 1*. 

" Famulum aliquantulum iotemperantius objurgavi, ob 
nimium salem jusculo inunistum." ®^ 

Among^many good things received this year. Lady Morton 
sends him a side of red deer ; and his sister Goring half a 
buck on one occasion, and four salt fish on another, together 
with six bottles of brandy, and preserved lemon, chocolate, and 
citron. 

landlord, Henry Pdham, last year." A great deal of flax was grown in this country 
formerly ; there are few, if any parishes, in which tradition does not show certain ^ax- 
fields. Now, here and there, a small quantity is grown by way of experiment. 

61 ** I severely reprimanded John Packham for his continual drunkenness, and at last I 
turned him out of my house, of which he had had the free run for five years ; a drunken 
extravagant fellow !" 

® " My sister quarrelled with me, and was insolent to me, and I was somewhat, not to 
say too much, irritated with her ; the consequence was, that for two days my stomach was 
at intervals seriously affected. I took Tipping's Mixture, and one or two doses of hiera picra." 
This last medicine to which Mr. Burrell generally had recourse in his physical troubles, is 
still a favourite one with the common people of Sussex. The following old receipt, which 
has been kindly communicated, shows the sort of drenches to which our ancestors had 
recourse : " In case of colic, take an ounce of hiera picra prepared with aloes, saffi*on, 
cloves, ginger, mace, half a quarter of an ounce of each ; put them into a pint of the best 
rum or brandy, with a pint of white wine. Take four spoonfuls going to bed, with some 
warm wine, or three or four spoonfuls of ale." 

<° « I was rather too impatient with my servant for having put too much salt in my 
broth." 



142 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BUKRELL, ESQ. 




4. 





1703. 

" April 5th. I paid Sarah Creasy her year's 
wages, and I have this day discharged her from 
my service, having been found faulty in taking 
vessels of strong beer out of the brewing, and hiding the 
same ; her wages were £2 16*.** 

" Pauperi cuidam de Bohiey ex fide jussione depauperato et 
reinde in carcere detruso dedi, Qd. Oblatum mihi, 10*. 
Farochianis de Cuckfield rennsi, Edwardo Luxford dedi, 5*. 
Pauperculae Lincohiiensi cum puella aegrota praeter cibacia 
dedi, Sd. 

"Nepti meae uxori Rich* Bridger Rhedam meam calash 
dictam, ad vehendam eam ad Reigate acconmiodavi, ac pos- 
tea ad revehendam. 

"Pro emptione librorum parochianis donandorum, 10*. 
T. Burrell consanguineo meo qui prodigus dum juvenis, jam 
senex coactus est egenti vivere fato, £1. Citharaedis quatuor 
ad nundinas Cuckfieldienses, 1*.^ 

" Uma sepulchralis Romana cineribus et ossibus humanis 
repleta, variis catinis sive patulis diversarum figurarum cir- 
cumstantibus, e luto rubente ac splendido confectis,in venta 
fiiit in Regia via apud Highbridge Hill, in Cuckfield apud 
Anstey.®* 

" Circiter aeraxius acetabula quaedam quorum stannum in- 

^ The etching in this case represents some instrument used in brewing, an occupation in 
which women formerly were entensively engaged. The justices of Rutland, in settling the 
rates of wages in 1610, a^udge that a chief woman, who can bake and brew, and make 
malt, and oversee other servants, shall have for her wages 24». Bd. a year ; a second best 
woman, who cannot dress meate, nor make malt, but who can brew, shall have 23s. Ad. 
(Archieologia, xi, p 20.) 

« ** I gave ten shillings to purchase books to be given to the children. To T. Burrell, 
my kinsman, a spendthrift in his youth, and now paying the penalty of poverty in his old 
age, I gave £1. To the band at Cuckfield fSedr I gave 1«." 

^ '< There was this day found in the high road, at Highbridge Hill, in Cuckfield, near 
Anstey, a Roman siepulclmd urn, filled with human bones and ashes, vnth various platters 
of different forms standing round it, made of red shining day." This must have been a 
Roman urn with Samian pottery, such as has been lately found on the Downs at Banner. 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 143 

teme ilKtum frequenti usu detritum fait resarciebat. Vasibus 
scilicet fervefactis injecta cum lapide de sale ammonica forcipe 
detento valide intemis lateribus affiricabat.^^ 

" llth June. Hestemo die,pede8 rore ambalando madefactus, 
et aliquantulum casei recentis comesus, hodie multo mane 
flatulentis paroxysmis discracior. Hierse picrae haustum unum 
et alterum capiendo tandem stomachi sive pectoris dolor 
quievit, Deo, Optimo, Maximo ob banc misericordiam suam 
gratias persolvo.^® 

" WiUo Groring mente lapso et per orbem diu jam vagabond© 
dedi, 6d. 

" I payd old Edwards for mowing 14 acres, at 1^. Sd. per 
acre, and as it was a very great grass, 42 load, I gave him 5*. 
over. I paid the hayers £1 4^. 

" Dolore capitis aliquamdiu vexatusvenam aperui et sanguinis 
uncias plus nimis novem emisi, aquas purgantes de Ditchling 
potare coepi. ^^ 

" 10th July. My girle began to leame to 

^^'^'^^^^^^'yf dance, at a guinea entrance, and a guinea a 
y^ quarter. 

" Payd Edward Virgo his yearns wages, £5. 
" Payd Mary Slater her wages, £30^. 

" Edwardo Luxfprd erga victum filioli sui apud Westmeston 
annuatim de me erogandas dedi jam libras, £2. Jo. Heasman 
ob erudiendos pauperes puerulos elementa dedi, Is^^ 

^ ** A travelliiig tinker repaired some of my saucepans, the inside tinning of which had 
heen rubbed off by frequent use, having heated the saucepans, and then having rubbed the 
inside of the vessels briskly vdth a stone of sal ammoniac, which he held in a pair of 
pinchers." 

® " Yesterday, having wetted my feet, by walking out in the dew, and having eaten a 
small piece of new cheese, I have been to-day tortured with flatulent spasms. By taking 
two doses of hiera picra, the pains in my stomach, or rather in my chest, abated. Thanks 
be to the great God for this his mercy towards me." 

^ ** Having been troubled for some time vdth a headache, I was blooded, and lost nine 
ounces, more or less, of blood, and I began to take the aperient waters of Ditchling." 
There is a chalybeate spring in that parish called the Well House, near the conmion, but 
no one in these days drinks the aperient waters of the Ditchling Spa. 

^ " I gave Edward Luxford, towards the support of his boy at school, £2 0*. Od., and 
he is to apply to me every year for the same sum." The history of Ned Luxford and his 





144 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

'^ Haemorrhoidum fluxum passus sum absque dolore atque 
crastino die venae baemorrhoidales turgescentes dolore afficie- 
bantur. 



" Nov. Pandoxavi. 



" Decern libras a sorore mea Emma Comwallis, ob parandas 
atras vestes super mortem mariti mihi assignatas remisi, ac 
propriis sumptibus mihi vestes atratas comparavi, Thos. Com- 
waUis, obiit 16 July, 1703.^^ 

"Dec, 8th. Pauperibus parochianis Sancti Egidii quorum 
aedes subitaneo igne corruerunt, 6d. Ad sacram ccenam, 1*. 
Fabri Fabrisio prole numerosa oppresso dedi, 10«. 24th. Pau- 
peribus parochianis ex consuetudine, £3 Is, 4id. Cantatoribus 
noctumis.in Natalitiis Domini, 1^. 6d, 

" Jan. 16. E penetrali vespere calefacto compuit aer frigi- 
disculus, unde noctanter per sudorem relevatus mane per Dei 
elementiam convalui. 

" Forte meum si quia te percunctabitur seyum 
Me ter vicenos sicat implevisse Decembres.'' ^ 

" Lenior et melior fiam acoedente senecti !'' ^ 

The presents received this year were 64 in number: "a 
silver Te pot and porridge spoon for his girle, from his niece 

children is curious, and certainly, as far as it goes, bears out Mr. Macaulay's statement as 
to the frequently humble destiny of clergymen's children in those times. This boy, to 
whose schooling he contributed, in process of time became curate of Heathfield, vicar of 
Chiddingly, and rector of Chalvington. Though belonging to an old and very respect- 
able family, he apprenticed one of his sons to a mason, and another to a stay-maker at 
Lewes. Henry, the son of the latter, was clerk to a brewer there. He was a great 
angler, and died in the pursuit of his calling at a very advanced age ; he slipped into the 
Ouse a few years ago. 

71 " I returned £10, which had been sent to me by my sister, Emma Comwallis, to 
purchase mourning upon the death of her husband, and I furnished myself with mourning 
at my own expense. Thos. Comwallis died on the 16th July, 1703." It is not unlikely 
that the custom here alluded to was superseded by that of sending mourning rings to a 
friend or relation, or the bequest of a sum to purchase one ; and that, too, has passed 
away, though the sending of scarfs and hatbands, which stiU continues, may have had its 
origin from the same cause. 

^ ** About mine age should anxious friends inquire, 

Pray tell them, Sn-, I've seen my sixtieth year." 
^ " As age creeps on. 

May I become a milder, better man !" 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 



145 



Bridger; six bottles of Nantes and chocolate, from sister 
Goring ; chocolate, tobacco, snuff, and snuff-box, from brother 
Goring ; half a buck, from Sir Robert Fagge ; another half 
buck, from brother Goring; haunch of venison, from Mr. 
Board ; crammed pullets, pheasants, partridges, capons, and 
pigs, a cod fish, &c. &c., from others.^* 



1704. 



" Ockenden House. 

" I had the roof measured ; 
the high building was 10 
squares and a half; the low 
building 41 squares. The 
stable 15 squares and a half. 




^7^J 





" Paid for two neckloths for Esquire 
Goldsmith, 7*. To Frank Virgo, to pay 
for a shirt, 6^. "^^^ 

" 20th May. Payd Warden for 2 hats for the ^^^ 
fellows liveries, 11^. \5iS> 

" Paid Mr. Heal, the dancing-master, for 
one quarter's teaching my daughter, £1 1^.6c?., 
after which he went to London for 2 weeks, 
and was absent at Christmas for 4 weeks. 

" Johanni Burt mente capto dedi tunicam et femoraUa, et 
Marise ancillse olim meae, 1^. To Mr. Goldsmith, for shoes, 
and to redeem his shirt, 2*. On the 25th ^^ 

of March I payd him in ftdl for his year's ;?:f^ 

wages, and agreed, in the hearing of Nurse, to 
pay him £4 the next year ; and I gave him 
hopes, if he proved a good husband, to consider him further ' 
but he several times rambled about all night, was frequently 
drunk with brandy, and spent all the money I got for him in 
half a year's time, besides his wages. 

" Ecclesiae Leicestrensi vi turbinis dirutae, dedi M. 

7^ As a proof that it was the custom mentioned in note 71 , for the relations of deceased 
persons to provide mourning for their friends, Mr. Jackson, nephew and heir of Pepys, 
says Evelyn, *^ sent me a complete mourning, desiring me to he one to hold up the pall at 
his magnificent obsequies, hut my indisposition hindered me from doing him this last duty.' 

HI. 10 




146 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

" Payd Susan Hawkins one year's wages, due for attend- 
ance on my daughter, £10. 

" Confessoribus Orangensibus, £2 ;^* and to John Coach- 
man, for the Orange refugees, 1^. ; and for his batchelor's tax, 
1*. To John Goldsmith, for the Orange refugees, 6rf. ; and 
towards his damask waistcoat, 3*. 

" Incendio domorum Wappingensibus depauperatis dedi in 
ecclesia, 2«.^^ 

" July. P* Jo. Coachman for Fred. French, for help at the 
horse-pond. Is, 6d. To Frank Virgo, to pay for a shirt, 6^. 

" For 4 bushels of Lymington salt, £1 8^.^^ 

" Nov. Naufragorum viduis et liberis post violentam pro- 
cellam ad insitas reductis, dedi £1 1^. ; et Somersetensibus 
inundatione maris submersis, Is^^ 

7' The city of Orange, which had been taken, and its walls destroyed, by Louis XIV, in 
1682, was restored to William the Third by the treaty of Ryswick; bat after his death 
the French took it again, and expelled all the Protestant inhabitants, and it was for these 
unfortunate refugees that the collection was made. 

^ So frequent were the fires in London about this time, that a few years later an act 
was passed, subjecting servants convicted of having caused a fire by carelessness to a 
penalty of £100, and in default of payment, to eighteen months' imprisonment, with hard 
labour. (Northouck's Hist, of London.) 

77 The manufacture of salt used to be carried on to a great extent at Lymington and its 
neighbourhood, but latterly it has much decreased. The sum Mr. Burrell paid for this 
great necessary of life was enormous, but sufficiently to be accounted for by the heavy tax 
imposed upon it. In 1698 the duty was 5«. a bushel, which vras afterwards increased to 
lbs., thirty times the cost of the thing itself. The revenue derived from it, when at its 
highest point, amounted to £1,500.000, that great corrector of excessive taxation, the 
smuggler, having stepped in to defeat its purpose. Mr. MacuHocfa calculates the con< 
sumption of salt in England, now that it is fiiee from duty, at 22 lbs. a head. If this 
calculation be accurate, it is a proof how heavily it must have pressed upon the people ; 
and it is another instance to show how much better things are managed now than they 
were in what many persons call " the good old days." This tax was finally repealed in 
1823. (Maculloch's Diet, of Commerce.) 

73 " To the destitute v^idows and children of those who were shipwrecked in the violent 
storm I gave £1, and to the Somersetshire people, who were overwhelmed by an inunda- 
tion of the sea. Is." In this memorable storm, in which ten ships of war were lost, and 
the Eddystone lighthouse destroyed, the low lands of Somersetshire, on the shores of the 
Bristol Channel, were deluged by the breaking of the banks and the irruption of the sea, 
whole herds and flocks being swept avniy. A singular record of this great tempest is pre- 
served to this day, by the bequest of a person named Taylor, who (having probably 
experienced some providential escape) lefk a small sum of money to be paid for a sermon, 
to be preached every year, on the subject of the storm, at the Baptist Chapel in Little 
Wyld-street, in London. The minister has a guinea, the clerk ten shillings, and two pew- 
openers bs, each. The sermon is preached on the Sunday nearest to the 26th and 27th 
of November. 




JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 147 

" Cuidam Brown militi vulnerato, Romano Catholico, 
dedi Is. 

"Payd Heasman for 17 posts, at bd. ; 
34 rails, at 6t?. ; in all £1 4*. Qd, I was 
grossly cheated, being charged 7^. 6t?. for 
carriage ; he payd back 2^^. 6d. 

" Dec. Pauperibus ex consuetudine, £3 4^. Foeminae par- 
turienti, 1^. T. Burrell febre quotidiana correpto, misi 5^. 
Dupbus militibus mutilatis apud Gibraltar, 1^. 

'* Extra fbrtunam est quidquid donatur- Amids 
Quas dederis, solas semper habebis opes." 7» Martial. 

" Societati pro propaganda religione, £10.®** 

" Will Gates came to me as footman, at 50^. 
per ann. ; he is to have a hat, coat, and breeches 
once in two years. If I turn him away the first 
year, I am to give him 5^. more, and take his 
livery. He died in 1713."«^ 

With the exception of his sister Goring, who sends him 22 
bottles of wine and 2 bottles of brandy, his aristocratic friends 
seem to have forgotten him this year. No venison was 
sent. The smaller tributes of capons, pullets, pigs, rabbits, 
messes of peas and beans, and bunches of turnips were sent 
freely by his poorer neighbours. In allusion to this, Mr. 
Burrell heads the hst with the words of Homer — Joo-t? BoTuryrjre 
<f>l\nrr€ — " the gift was small but welcome." 

^ A free translation of this is to be found in the epitaph of the good Earl of Courtenay : 
" What we gave, we have ; 
What we spent, we had ; 
What we had, we lost." 

Gibbon's Hist, of the Courtenay Family, 

» "To the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts .1 gave £10." 
This society had just received its charter. 

^ The symbol by which Gates is always accompanied is that of a spade. In the certi- 
ficate of his burial he is called Mr. Burrell's coachman. 




148 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 



^ 



=^ 



1705. 





"May. For 22 quarts of hony, at l^.Gc?. the quart, £1 15^.6^?. 

** EJ oivov KM fuXiroe ro wvafi^ortpov riSitrrov.** ® 

LuciAN, Promethetu. 

" Frances Goring, neptis ex sorore, hospes venit cum an- 
cilla, abiit August. Comwallo et Willo Robrough navigaturis, 
dedi 4iS, Nautae cum pedibus inferioribus vi fulminis e 
transverso distortis, dedi 1*. 

" 10th July. Collector! Tirrell pro maris inimdatione in 
Essexia, 10^. 9d, 

" I paid for 2 ells of cloth to make a smock for my girle, at 
5 groates the ell, 3^. 4id. To Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Sellers, 
their bills, £15 18«. 9d, For 28 yards of pink flowered 
satten, at 9*. the yard, £12 Us.^ 

"Payd Gosmark for makrug cyder 1 day, whilst John 

||BH^ Coachman was to be drunk with the carrier's money, 

J 1/^ by agreement ; and I payd 2d. to the glasyer for 

* J»" mending John's casement, broken at night by him 

when he was drunk, and could not waken Goldsmith to let 

him in. 

" For 12 chord of wood, at 9«. 6d. the chord, £5 14^. 
" Mariae Robrough et tribus puerulis abeuntibus, dedi 
£1 48, 6d 

"I sold Halford a fat cow, at 166?. 
the stone. She weighed 67 stone 61b., 
£4 10«. lOd; 5th quarter, £1 2^. Id; total, 
£5 13«. I sold him a calf, which weighed 
114 lbs., at Sd the lb., £1 7^. 6d 
" Dec. 10. Rore frigidiusculo inambulando male me habui, at 
levi sudore orto spontaneo relevari me sentiebam mane, Deo 

® " The sweetest mixture is that of wine and honey.'' 

This is about the price which would be paid in the present day. 





JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 149 

gratias !®* 26th. Doloribiis scorbuticis circa tibia ac femora 
noctu tentatis per acrem, ut opinor, derepente praegelidum 
excitatis. 

" Jovis Cellingensibus oppidi incendio depaupferatis dedi 1^. 

" A leg of mutton was brought in by Holford's daughter 
for 7 lbs., which weighed only 6 lbs. Teste Sarah. Watch the 
butcher ! 

" Cuidam Cox Herefordiensi absque brachiis, sed duobus 
digitis tantum ex humero nascentibus, qui literas perquam 
graphice exaravit, 1^. 6d. Pauperi hemioso et eidem pro 
expensis in itinere ad Sanctae Bartholomaei Noscomium, bs.^^ 

" Shut up two large hogs for fat- 
ting; bought 2 quarters of pease 
for them, at 3^. 3d, the bushel. «==i£aCs^^*j 

" Glande sues laeti redeunt, dant arbuta silvae."86 

Among the presents received this year, are half a fat buck, 
from Henry Gage, Esq. ; the same from Sister Goring, with 
4 bottles of brandy, a chees, and a partridge ; from R? Hayler, 
two old conies, and some dead muddy carps. 

1706. 

" 25th March. P^ John Coachman, by Ned Vu'go, that he 
may be drunk all the Easter week, in part of his wages due, 

£1. /r-^r- 

"P? Mr. Middleton my 4th part, ^^""^ 

for Gazettes, to this day, 6^. 6d,^^ 

" Scoto militi emerito a Collegio Chelsiensi ut prae se fert, 

at suspicor veritatem, 2^. 6d, Berry erga expensas in cura- 

tione brachii fracti filiae suae, 1^. 

^ ** Dec. 10th. I felt unwell in consequence of having walked out in the dew when it 
was rather cold, but a slight perspiration coming on, in the morning I found myself relieved. 
Thanks be to God!" 

^ " To a man from Hereford of the name of Cox, who was without arms, but who had 
two lingers growing out of his shoulders, with which he managed to write very well, I gave 
1«. 6d. ; and to a poor man who was ruptured, for himself, and to pay his expenses on his 
way to St. Barthlomew's Hospital, bs." 

^ ** The winter comes, and then the feJling mast 

For greedy swine provides a full repast." Dryden. 

^ " At the seat of a man of fortune in the country the News Letter was impatiently ex- 
pected ; within a week after it arrived, it had been thumbed by twenty fkmilies : it 
furnished the squires v^dth matter of talk over their October, and the neighbouring rectors 
with topics for sharp sermons against Whiggery and Popery." (Macaulay, vol. i, c. 3.) 



150 



JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 




" For a payr of fine scarlet stockings for my 
girle, 3*. The curtains, quilt, &c. for my 
daughter's bed weighed 3 qrs. of a lb."®® 

Received of my brother, P. Burrell, 2 galons 
of white port, at 6*. 8d, the galon, and 3 galons 
of canary, at 10*.— £1 10*.®» 

" Aug. For a periwigg for John, 14*. So he has 
had in all £6 2*. bd. in full of his year's wages, Jfcj 
and 2*. 5d, over ; and I gave him notice that I would (^m 
not allow him any longer for the livery, being worn 
two years, since 'twas to be all spent in drunkenness. 

*' I bought of a Scotchman a payr of pink 
scarlet stockings for my girle ; a better penny- 
worth than Richardson's, on the 15th of July.^ 

"Dec. Pauperibusexconsuetudine, £2 10*. 6^?. Betty Smith 
de Kidlington mente lapsae plane, 1*. ; Maynard mente lapsae, 1*. 

" 13th March. A broom, 
a new rubbing brush, &c. 

Vilibus in scopis, in mappis, in scrobe quantus 
Consistit Bumptus ! '' " 

" 16th. I had 3 dozen of Malmadizia, 

a sort of palm wines, from Teneriffe, and 

11 galons of white port, drawn off and 

bottled. I received from my brother Peter 

6 quarts of right canary. 

" Foeminae pauperi uxori Socii Chirurgi marini captivi, 

apud Edinburgum in Scotia, sed falso et jam in carcere vocato 

the Compter, in actione debiti, 1*." 

^ In a codicil to his will, made after his daughter's death, he leaves the ** crimson damask 
satten mantle, with a broad plate upon it, the white damask satten mantle, and the white 
satten quilt, satten basket, and pincushion," which belonged to his daughter, to his grand- 
daughter, on her marriage or coming of age. 

» In the article of wine our ancestors had greatly the advantage over us. Mr. Burrell's 
Port wine cost him about a shilling a bottle, his Canary twenty pence a bottle. 

^ Coloured stockings were all the fashion in those days. Pepys, thirty-six years before, 
having been told by his cousin Turner, that she had drawn him for her Valentine, says, 
** I did this day call at the New Exchange, and bought her a payr of green silk stockings 
and garters, all coming to about 28«. ; and I did give them to her this morning.'^ 
^^ " In brooms, and clouts, and such like sordid things, 
"What money is spent ! " 





ijjLiiiiiiiiuim i iujmm|| i i n 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY. BURRELL, ESQ. 



151 






His sister, Goring, as usual, sends him half a buck and 6 
bottles of brandy ; he receives a Tunbridge egg salver for his 
girle, and another sends him as many as 20 lobsters. 

" 25th April, ^dificando templo Protestantium in Pala- 
tinatu, 2^. 6d, 

" Erga monumentum Johannis Rail, Tutoris olim mei apud 
Cantabridgienses, sed colendissimo, £5.^^ 

" Paid Nanny West her wages in full, due 
25th, and more £l 10^. ; paid Sarah Wade 2 
years' wages, £6. 

" Por 4 yards and a half of muslen, to make 6 

night neckcloths for myself, at 3^. a yard, 12*. 4rf. 

I bought 2 surtout coats, of light gray cloth, at 3*. Qd, 

the yard, for Joe and Will. 

" Sturt's crock of butter weighed 8 naile, 9 lb. ; 

he saith his wife put up 5 naile, 5 lb. at 3*. 4id, a 

naile. 

" Nov. 7. Sacra coena coepta vitae melioris ingredi viam 
statui. Nov. 9th. Paulo nimis iratus servulis.^^ 

" Paid for a cart with lodes, £1 18*. ; 
for a pair of horse drills, 5*. 

" Dec. Pauperibus ex consuetudine, £3. Viro Hodleyensi, 
cujus uxor aqua perfervida laesa fuit, Qd. I gave Thos. Warden 
3 quarters of an ounce of tea. 

" The maltman gave notice that from this 
time forward malt would be at 3*. 4d, a 
bushel; for 16 lbs. of hops I gave 16*.^ 

^ ** Towards a monument to John Ray, formerly my tutor at Cambridge ; a man to be 
much revered by me, £b." This was the celebrated natural philosopher and divine, 
whose death had occurred about two years before : he was FeUow and Tutor of Trinity 
CoUege, Cambridge. Mr. Peter Courthope, whose name occurs frequently in this Journal, 
a relation of Mr. Buirell's, was another of bis pupils, and, as appears from the short sketch 
of his life in the Biographical Dictionary, was one of the several curious gentlemen who 
accompanied him in his journeys through England, when he went " a simpling." 

^ " Nov. 7th. Having taken the holy sacrament, I have determined to Uve a better 
course of life. Nov. 9th. I was rather too irritable with my servants." 

^ At all tunes and in all ages the most uncertain of crops. In 1691 he paid only 3<f. 
a lb. for them. 





152 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 



"I paid Mr. Jug for 10 
carps, of 14 inches, 9^. Shut 
up a hog to fat.^ 

" Jan. Edward Sandridge came to work on the orchard 
palisade gates, with his boy. 25th was a 
jgrnmj wettday. 26th, worked weU. 27th, Uttle 
^ ' ' trtZr work, and no boy ; afternoon, boy. 
" Bought of Henry Wood 4 bushels of wheat, at 2s. 6d. a 

bushel.^ 

" Invited at Christmas. 



Ist January. 

Walter Gatland* 
G. Savage, 
J. Savage* 
Rd. Burt, 
Rt. Chatfidd, 
Jo. Sturt, 
Jo. Warden^ 
Wm. Banester, 
ThoB. Gates, 
Heniy Ives, 
T. Uwins, 
Mrs. Burt, 
Mrs. Hedger. 





2d January. 

Jo. Chatfidd, 
Will. Sanders, 
wm. M^npeimy, 
Thos. Canon, 
Jo. Hurst, 
Thos. Warden, 
Jo. Holford, 
Edw. Virgoe, 
Rd.Virgoe, 
Mrs. Luxfbrd, 
wm. West, 
Mrs. Mathers. 



^ 



^ The gentlemen of Sussex set great store by their carps and tenches. Mr. Burrell 
this year makes out a list of his — ^wh^ they were put into the stew, and when taken out 
— ^he dassifies them as small fish, sizeable, middling, large, very large, noble and vast. 
The carp, too, was a cherished and a costly fish in other counties. Speaking of Swallowfidd, 
where Evdyn went in 1685, on a visit to Lady Clarendon, admiring everything, he says : 
** Above all, the canals and fishponds, the one fed with a white, the other with a black 
running water, fed by a quick and swift river, so weU and plentifully stored with fish, 
that for pike, carp, bream, and tench, I never saw anything apinroaching it. We had at 
every meal carp and pike, of a size fit for the table of a prince ; and what added to the 
ddight was, to see hundreds taken by the drag, out of which, the cook standing by, we 
pcnnted out what we had most mind to, and had a carp that would have been worth at 
London twenty shillings a piece.'' 

^ The average price of wheat this year was as low as £1 Zs. Id, a quarter ; the lowest 
price, with one exception— namely, 1687, when it was ^1 2s. 4jrf. — ^that occurred for 
ninety-seven years, from 1646 to 1743. In 1743 it fell to £1 2*. Id. 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 163 

1st January. >o3tfe^ 2d January. 



Plumm pottage,^ 
Calves' head and bacon, 
Groose, 

Hg. 

Plumm pottage, 

Roast beef, sirloin, 

Veale, a loin, 

Goose, 

Plumm pottage. 

Boiled beef, a clod. 

Two baked puddings. 
Three dishes of minced pies. 

Two capons, 

Two dishes of tarts. 

Two pullets. 





Plumm pottage, 
Boiled leg of mutton, 
Goose, 

Pig, 

Plumm pottage. 
Roast beef, 
Veal, leg, roasted, 

Pig, 

Plumm pottage, 

Boiled beef, a rump. 

Two baked puddings, 
Three dishes of minced pies. 

Two capons, 

Two dishes of tarts. 

Two pullets. 



^ Minced pies still remain to us, but, alas, for plum porridge ! which, like many other 
good things, has quite passed away ; and yet it was a great favourite with our fore&thers, 
as Hudibras bears witness to in these lines : 

** Rather than fail, they wiU deny, 
That which they love most tenderly, 
Quarrel with mince-pies, and disparage 
Their best and dearest friend plum porridge.'' 

Should any of our readers feel disposed to revive this dish, the following receipt, which has 
been kindly sent to me, wiU enable them to make the attempt : " Take of beef-soup made of 
the legs of beef 12 quarts, if you wish it to be particularly good, add a couple of tongues to 
be boiled therein. Put fine bread, sliced, soaked, and crumbled ; raisins of the sun, 
currants, and pruants, two lbs. of each ; lemons, nutmegs, mace, and cloves are to be 
boiled with it in a muslin bag ; add a quart of red wine, and let this be followed, after half 
an hour's boiling, by a pint of sack. Put it into a cool place, and it wiU keep through 
Christmas." This was the great natioaal dish for the happy season of Christmas. There 
was yet another, appropriated to a different period, which, though not alluded to in the 
Journal, it may not be amiss to notice, particularly as that, too, is fast disappearing — 
namely, firmity. This was made of the com of wheat deprived of its skin, which was 
gently boiled, and then were added the yolks of eggs, with sugar and flour, currants, and 
raisins, and grated cinnamon. It was eaten on Mid-Lent or Refreshment Sunday, the 
Gospel of that day giving the account of the miracle'of the loaves and fishes, being con- 
sidered as justifying the indulgence ; and it was a great relief after severe fieisting. Firmity 
was universally known through Somersetshire, and at Bristol fsunilies used to interchange 
presents of it. It is still eaten at Oxford on Mid-Lent Sunday, and the prepared wheat 
cannot be procured on any other day. 



154 



JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BURR£LL, ESQ. 



' Multa leDem drcomTeniant incommoda ; yd quod 
Quaerit, et inyentis miser abstiiiet, ac timet uti ; 
Vel quod res omnes timide gdideque ministrat. 
Dilator, spe longus, iners, ayidusque fiituri ; 
Diffidlis, qnerulus, laudator temporis acti 
Se paerOiCastigator censorque minorom. 
Multa femnt amii Tenientes oommoda secum, 
Malta recedentes adimunt.''>B 

* Optima quaeque dies miseris mortalibiu sevi 
Prima fogit ; subeunt morbi, tristisque senectus/^ 



HORACB. 



Vl&GIL. 



Presents flowed in very freely this year : venison, capons, 
wild ducks, woodcocks, pheasants, pigs, a fine pig from Anne 
Saxby, a fine pig from Wm. Anscomb, and a very fine pig 
from Walter Gatland. 




1708. 

" I paid Susan Hawkins, for a yeai^'s attendance on 
my gu-le, £10; and I paid Nanny West her year's 
wages, £2. 

" For a bob perriwig I gave £5. 



" May 10. For 12 eUs one quarter of holland, 
at 5^. 6fl?., for 6 half shirts, £3 Is. 

" I lett Mr. Crunden, the butcher, the White- 
man's Green Croft, from Lady-day, for one year, 
at 15«. and a shoulder of mutton. 

** A thousand ills the aged man sunx>und, 
Anxious in search of wealth, and when 'tis found 
Fearful to use what they with fear possess, 
While doubt and dread their fEunilties depress. 
Fond of delay, they trust in hope no more, 
Listless and fretful of the approaching hour ; 
Morose, complaining, and with tedious praise. 
Severe to censure, earnest to advise, 
And with old saws the present race chastise. 
The blessings flowing on with life's full tide, 
Down with our ebb of life decreasing glide." 

Francis's Horace, 
** In youth alone unhappy mortals live ; 
But, ah ! the mighty bliss is fugitive : 
Discoloured sickness, anxious labours come. 
And age and death's miserable doom." 

Dbyoen. 




JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 155 



" For a bushel of white 
pease, 3^. 

" 1st June. Bolum ex rhubarbo confectum deglutavi ex 
praescripto Doctoris Whish, pro dolore coUco, sed dolorem in 
stomacho talem peperit, quod haustum tincturae sacrae coactus 
fiii recipere, quis, Deo gratias, requiem mihi aliquantulam 
dedit.ioo 

" Carolinae Robrough, quae mihi visitandi gratia venit, 
dedi £1 2*. 6d, 

" Lisbonae in Hibemia combustae dedi 2^. 6d,,^^^ et Johanni 
Burt mente lapso indusium Unteum, 81^., et secundum 
2s. 6d. 

" My daughter s account. 

"I gave her, to buy pins, 10^.; for mantle, pettycote, 
silk, scarlet stockings, bought in London, by my sister 
Goring, £16 6^. ; for 4 ells of hoUand, for shifts, £2 6^. ; 
6 yards of printed calico, for a wrapper gown, 17^.; 21 
yards of Norwich black and white crape, at 2^. 6d, a yard, 
£2 2^. Qd.; 6 yards of Dm'ance scarlet Uning, 9^. I gave 
her at Den, £1. Spanish leather shoes, 3^., &c. &c. Her 
total expenses, besides the waste of 4 payr of shoes, were 
£40 IQs. M}"^ 

" Dec. Pauperibus ex consuetudine, £3 10^.; Ed. 
Edwardo restituenti cochleare argenteum super fime- 
tum inventum, 1*.; Scholae Brighthelmstoniensi Tri- 
viali ex consuetudine et pro dimidio anni, £1. To 
John Coachman, for shirts, and to buy him heart's-ease during 
the Christmas holidays, £1. 

*<* " I took a bolus of rhubarb, from a prescription of Dr. Whish, for the colic, but it 
produced such a pain in my stomach that I was obliged to take the tincture of hierae picrae, 
which, thanks be to Ood, gave me some relief.'' 

^°^ In 1707 the castle and town of Lisbum were burned to the ground. The castle was 
never rebuilt, but the town, in which many of the Huguenot families had established 
themselves after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and in which they carried on a 
flourishing linen manufacture, soon rose again on the ruins of the old town, and, as is 
always the case where the principle of life in a community is strong, in a very improved 
condition. In such cases ashes are the best manure. 

^ In these articles the advantage in point of cheapness is all in favour of the present day. 
The hoUand for shifts, which cost Mr. Burrell 46«., could now be purchased for \hs. ; the 
6 yards of printed calico, which cost him very nearly 3«. a yard, for from 6<^. to 12<f. a 
yard ; and the Norwich crape would be \%d. instead of 2s. ^d. 




166 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

" 9th Jan. I invited Mr. Middleton,*^^ Mr. Willy, Mr. Shore, 
and Mr. Carpenter, to dinner. 

Pease pottage. 
2 carps. 2 tench. 

Capon. PnUet. 
Fried oysters. 
Baked padding. 
Roast leg of mutton. 

Apple padding. 
Goos. 
Tarts. Minced pies.>M 

^ Mr. Middleton, the Vicar of Cackfidd, married the sister of the celebrated Dr. Patrick, 
first Bishop of Chichester and afterwards Bishop of Ely, and to him, whom in his will he 
calls his patron and bene£sctor, he probably was indebted for the living of Cackfidd, and 
certainly for a prebendal stall at Ely. Mr. Middleton died in 1712. Jadging fix)m the 
character and spirit of his will, he mast have been a good and rdigious man. It begins 
with this solemn prefiioe : — '' In the name of God, amen ! First, I commend my soul into 
the hands of Jesos Christ, my Lord and dear Redeemer, hoping, through the infinite 
mercy of God, and the meritorious death and passion of his Son, and by an unfeigned 
jGuth in the same, and a true repentance of all mine offences, it shall be conveyed to that 
place of rest and refreshment, where good souls waite for the happy resurrection of their 
bodies, and a consummation of their bliss in heaven ; and I commit my body, after my 
decease, to the earth, in firm belief of its re-union with the soul, and joynt salvation and 
g^ory in the day of the Lord, and decently to be buried meanwhile ; and as for the estate 
or portion of worldly goods God's good providence hath been pleased to give me, to support 
me in my pilgrimage, I bequeath,'' &c. &c. With respect to his funeral he directs, " that 
it shall be performed as it vras in the case of his vrife's funeral, with the exception of those 
exorbitant expenses which were then incurred, and of which he greatly disapproved at the 
time ; that the provisions should be the same, and the burnt claret or other wine should 
be used as then." To Mr. Burrell, that worthy gentleman and parishioner, he desires his 
executor to send a mourning ring, not exceeding in cost lis, or 15«., and a pair of gloves ; 
and he appoints him one of the trustees of a charity, consisting of a bequest of i£30, the 
interest of which was to be applied to the putting to school, under a good schoolmaster, 
poor children of the parish, to be taught to read and write, and to be instructed in the 
Church Catechism ; and the rest of his property, in proportions of £100 each, he leaves to 
the grandchildren of Bishop Patrick, his only son ; their father, being dead ; and to his 
nieces living at Taunton, one of whom had married Mr. Coles, the saddler, and who vras 
to be heard of at John Hughes's, the leather seller, at the Three Crovmes in Newgate 
Street, legades of £10 each. He then directs the attention of his executors to three 
catalogues which he had left behind him, one the catalogue of bis ofiences, another that of 
his afflictions, the third that of the merdes, both to body and soul, which m God's good 
providence, he had experienced : the first two he directs them to destroy, the last he leaves 
to their discretion, to publish, if they thought the so doing would tend to advance the 
glory of God and the good of his fellow-creatures. He was buried according to the 
directions in his will, on the right hand of the body of his wife, and, by a nngular coin- 
ddence, the nearest tablet is that of the vicar who preceded him, Mr. Henshaw, placed 
there by his half-brother, Peter Gunning, Bishop, first of Chichester, then of Ely. 

^ This is a specimen, sdected from others, of a dinner given to a small family party ; 
others will follow on a larger scale. Compare this with that modd of a small dinner given 
by Justice Shallow to FalstafiT. '' Some pigeons, Davy ; a couple of short legged hens, a 
joint of mutton, and any pretty little tiny kickshaws, tell William Cook." 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 157 

" Edwardo Luxford, erga suscipiendos Ordines Deconatus, 
dedi £1. Wm. Constable tenenti condonavi 6^.^^® 

" These are the funeral charges on the interment of my dear 
sister Jane BmreU, who died on the 16th January, 1708. To 
G. Wood, for crape and worsted for the shroud, £1 6^., and 
for making it, 8^. ; for making and nayling the cofl&n, £2 2*. ; 
for bays to line it, 11^., and cloth to cover it, £1 6*. ; for 
black crape, hatbands, gloves, 6^. ; favour knots, wine, and 
use of pall, £15 Is. To Mr. Middleton, for sermon, £2 Ss.'"^ 
To the clerk and sexton, for the passing bell and grave, 2^. Qd. 
To Mr. Daw, for his bill for charges for commission and pro- 
bate of the will, £2 9*. The total expenses were £35 9^. Qd. 
She left to Mr. Thos. Burrell and Alex' Burrell £500 each. 
To Peter Burrell, £100. To Francis Burrell, a gold watch. 
To Peter Short, £5, and to Peter Short's wife, £5. To Edw*^ 
Virgoe, as her godson, 10^., and as my servant, £1. To my 
daughter Elizabeth, 10^. I payd her servant, Mrs. Dorothy 
Bridger,*^^ her year's wages, which did not become due tiU May, 
1709, £5, and I paid her her legacy, £2. Mary Chaloner, 
£1. Anne West, £1. Mary Tavemer, £1. WiU. Gates, 
£1. Jo. Lord, £1." 

In addition to these bequests, Mrs. Jane Burrell left £10, 
to be divided among the poor of the parish, a very common 
legacy in those days. The recipients were 112 in number, 
who received sums varying from 4^. to 6d. each ; one of them, 
who rejoiced in the curious name of John Eightacres' wife, 
receiving 1*. ; to Anne Chaloner there was given £1. 

In recording the presents received this year he mentions the 
days on which he receives them. Mrs. Shore sends him a 
large salt fish ; then follow messes of beans, sugar peas, mul- 
lets, wild ducks ; but what is remarkable is the time of the 
year when game is sent him, six partridges arrive as early as 
the 12th of July, 3 heathpolts on the 29th, a pheasant on the 
17th of August, 12 more partridges on the 21st. They were 

106 u ^Q Edward Luxford, towards his expenses in taking deacon's orders, £1, To my 
tenant, William Constable, I remitted bs" 

iM A funeral sermon was quite a matter of course : lOs. was the price paid by the poor ; 
two guineas, as in the present instance, by the rich. The Rev. Giles Moore bought a book 
fiill of funeral sermons in London for a few shillings. 

^ This good lady, it seems, soon afterwards quartered herself upon Mr. Burrell for an 
indefinite period. 



158 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURBELL, ESQ. 

probably token in nets, with setters, and sent to him alive. 
It seems that our ancestors ate game aU the year round, for 
Lady Russell, wntmg on the 3d of April, 1680, says, « The 
mdow and I are going to a partridge and Wobum rabbits." 
Twelve iron cakes for Betty complete the list. 

1709. 

J'J^^\ ^'^^- ?^testMitibus in Polonia et Livonia ad 
Kdificandam ecclesiam, 2*.>»8 29th. Paid for aU Gazettes 

STg'r'S^'^*'^ '"^' ''^°^^'^' ^' ''■ e^^^^de 

"Paid John Coachman for a whip to spoil 
my horses, U6</. ^ 

"Jana Payn vini Lusitanii, Ss. Duobus n.,l,>,K„» j 
d^txs U Naut« ab India d«ridentoli"m du^nav" b7m 
cosas aufugiens navem suam mercatoriam ad Sttnil r." 
posted per hostes combustem, 1,. M JTs^th in w ^P"^* 
roso qui variolis decubuisset. dedi 6* ' J'"''^"' «"^^- 

" Oct. I bought 2 bushels of wheat for 16« anH th^r. * 
^^ bushels more for 17*. The U Lll^^h tZ 

^W^t'o^irtir^'- Since that ;ht\r?al^^: 
^Vj^^ll^ to 8*. a bushel. Query what rpfm^^^ /^ xf 

^^^miUer? 1211b. So Vtol^ '^LTwas^^ S' 
which was reasonable for double toU which CI T vi. • V" 
have been 16d. the bushel.»o» ' ^^"^ ^^^ ""g^^* 

•" "For the Protestants in Poknd and LHhnania, for the hnn*„» .rf *u • . 
gaye2.." The« wa, a gene«a oollectkm nu«lerthe1L^ ^^^ 
«-ito,«rf.the tr^ulation ol the Bible for them^VS^'J^;'"^'""^ 
msunce, the church aUuded to wa. to be b™it at l^ttau, in Co^ll^ ^ ** ""^^ 

" In olden tune, when the lord of a manor bniK a mill he m^.i,-. 

fomiditmoreconvenienttoletthemill. he«naraHvB«d»i,Z7l*wv . ^'^'^^ 

to himself and his ftmily the wiyO^ctS^Z^^^ "^ *^ **'^' wsermg 
as it was called. F^ Z^ZZl^^v ^ .«f« *«" fi«V " Multnra liben^^ 
gHst being ,^ZSl';:S^^:^JS^'^Z-^^ ""^^ 
he pleased or what was o^ double ^rf!^- ^ ^ ^ '* ^^'^ to ask what 

the manor in whichTeS^wt^^'^lt^SS.':"?^''^^ 
wen of a miUer. a class of men whiZtm thet^Su^'tlr '*^*?-^« 
as one who "well cowdestdecomandtoUentwr'^rf^Ln^r' ''^"^^ ^ ^^ 
subject of gibe and jest. Touching^Z^S.^ ^?"T* '^^' '«''«* ^^fte 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 159 

" Dehinc durante annonae caritate elargiri statui pauperibus 
ad januam diebus Dominicis eleemosynam captantibus, 12 
libras carnis bovinae singulis septimanis, et decern libras 
super, in toto 16 libras, et medium frumenti et ^ medium 
herdei in quatuor septimanis.^^*^ 

" 24th Oct. Dorothy Bridger venit hespes. . . . abiit . . .^^^ 

" Venae haemerrhoidales sanguinem cepiosierem emittebant 
absque delere. 

" Nov. Pauperibus Palatinis, £1.^^^ I paid John Coachman 

body. In process of time the stake became a tree, and the spot was hamited by the miller's 
ghost. Thus fieur tradition ; but the curious circumstance connected with this story is, that 
in the year 1829, close to the root of an old blighted oak which hung across the road near 
the haunted spot, some cottagers, in digging for sand, discovered some human bones, which 
were generally admitted to be the remains of ** The honest nuller of ChalTington.'' 

^^ ** From this time I have resolved, as long as the dearth of provisions continues, to give 
to the poor who apply for it at the door on Sundays, twelve pounds of beef every week, 
and on the 11th of February 4 lbs. more, in all 16 lbs., and a bushel of wheat and half a 
bushel of barley in 4 weeks." The average price of wheat this year was £3 9«. 9d, the 
quarter, the highest price which occurred in the course of 146 years, namely, from 1649 
to 1795. The following year it was as high as £3 9«., an enormous price, considering the 
difference in the value of money. 

Ill «< 24th Oct. Dorothy Bridger came as my guest she went away 

113 The history of these Palatinates is curious. Louis XIY, the year before, had fallen 
suddenly upon the Palatinate, and ravaged it with fire and sword. The famine following 
upon the havoc, reduced the wretched inhabitants to such a state of misery, that they were 
obliged to fly their country, and seek homes wherever they could. The first flight that arrived 
in England did not, according to Burnet, exceed fifty Lutherans, who were so effectually 
recommended to Prince George of Denmark's chaplain, that the queen was induced to allow 
them what does not appear an excess of royal hberality, a shilling a day, and took care that 
they should be sent out and settled in the plantations in America. To use Burnet's own 
words, "Ravished with this good reception," they wrote such an account <rf things to their 
friends abroad, that thousands were induced to come over and try their fortunes in England; 
but these arrived at an unfortunate time, when provisions were very dear and com was at 
a fEunine price. However, there they were, and they must be supported. A great number 
of them were quartered in tents on Blackheath. Briefs were issued for collecting money 
for them, and very large sums were bestowed in charity upon these strangers, much to the 
indignation of the English people, who were severely suffering themselves. About 500 
fiimilies were sent to Ireland, and £24,000 was granted for the purposes of settling them 
there; and, query, whether they were not the ancestors of those German settlers on the 
coast of Wexford^ whom recent travellers in Ireland describe as prospering, though sur- 
rounded by idle, wretched Irish ? Three thousand of them were sent to New York, and 
these settled on the HudsonRiver ; but bemg ill treated there, they removed to Pennsylvania, 
where they were hospitably and kindly received by the Quakers. These formed the nucleus 
round which thousands of German and Swiss Protestants have since collected, and amply 
have they rq)aid the original settlers for thdr hospitality, by those habits of patient in- 
dustry which the Germans import with them wherever they go. In the course of ages their 
descendants have ill requited the hberality shown to their ancestors when they first 





160 JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

for Palatines, 1*. For tools pretended at Mr. Tydy's sale, 
£1 Is. 6d, 

" 12th March. The young Sneak's cow lost 
her calf. 21st. Middle Sneak's cow calved 
a bull calf ; I sold it to Morden for 26*. Old 
Sneaks calved a cow calf in April. 
I gave my daughter this year 15*. to buy pins. For a 
new gowne, pettycotes, &c., £15 2*. 2 pair of Turkey leather 
shoes, one yellow and one red, laid with silver, 9*. 6d. To 
Venlowe, for stayes, £2 4*. Gave her when she went to 
Horsham, £1 10*. Sent her to Higden, 10*. Gave her at 
Christmas -J a guinea. For the materials of Durance scarlet* ^^ 
for a wrapping gowne, and the making, £2 3*. 9d. 

" My flint glasses and decanters cost 6c?. a lb. at 
London. I brought from London 2 saltfish, which 
weighed 21 lbs. ; one of them was a very bad one. 
" Paid Warden's bill for brandy and hose, in part of John 
Lord's wages, 19*. 6fl?." 

His humbler friends and neighbours dined with him as 
usual on the 2d and 3d of January, the dinner being very 
nearly the same as that before recorded, plum porridge and 
mince pies prevailing. The presents this year were 70 in 
number. Messes of peas and beans, carrots, radishes and 
turnips, &c., from his poorer neighbours. From the richer, 
half bucks, a fat goos from one, a sorry gosling from another, 
capons, pullets, pigs, bullocks' sweetbreads, &c. &c. 

arrived npon our shores, inasmuch, as it is wdl understood, these Germans are the authors 
and ahettors of that system of repudiating their debts, by which so many of our country- 
men have suffered. 

That such a drcumstance as the arrival of some thousands of needy foreigners in 
England should have excited indignation, under the special circumstances of the case, 
among the people, is natural enough ; but that it should have been taken advantage of by 
public men in the way it was, is a strong proof of the violence of party spirit in those 
days. The Tories accused the Whigs of intending the overthrow of the church of England, 
by the introduction of so large a body of dissenters, and the House of Commons was pre- 
vailed upon to pass a vote, declaring those who invited the Palatines over to England to be 
the enemies of their queen and country. (Burnet.) 

1^ A considerable part of the country through which the Durance flows is celebrated 
now for its " ^toffes de garance," stuffs dyed with madder root, of a fine red or scarlet 
colour. 



JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 161 




4: 





1710. 

" March 26th. Two bushels of wheat which I sent to John 
Sturt the miller, weighed 124 lbs. sack and all; there were 
brought back 111 lbs., so that 13 lbs. were wanting. 

"To John Lord,, to buy stockings, 1^. Qd, ; for 2 neck- 
cloths, 4*. 6d. ; breeches and drink, 6^. 

" I payd the saddler for John Coachman falling ( 
drunk off his box, when he was driving to Glynde, 
in part of his wages, £1 7^. 6d. 

" May 22. Maria Christiana Groring venit, hospes gratissima, 
abiit 26 Junii.^^* 

" 2d June. Pro fanere Janae Payn, £1. 

" For the things bought by my sister for my daughter at 

London I paid £37 13^. For a scarlet camlet cloake, £3 9^. 

" 25tK June. I paid to Nanny West for her wages, 

due at Lady day, £1 10^., besides 10^. to Dr. White, 

K- and 27^. to Fishenden the apothecary. 

" 6th Aug. Incepi Doctoris Fuller me- 
thodum infusionis amari et vini stomachici. 
8th Sept. Incepi methodum Doctoris Cox. 
10th Oct. Incepi methodum Doctoris Fuller 
novum die Lunae post meridiem. ^^^ 
" Anne Chaloner, virgini vetulae inopi, filiae nutricis meae, 
dedi 2^. 6^.^^^ 

114 u -^^Lj 22d. Maria Christiana Goring came, a most welcome guest ; she went away the 
26th of June.'' This lady, whose visit gave him so much pleasure, died a few years later. 
She left him a legacy of £50, which, however, hy his will, he remitted to her brother. Sir 
C. Goring, giving him £250 besides, in consideration of the large portion he had received 
with his wife. Sir C. Goring's sister. 

116 u On the 6th of Aug. I began Doctor Fuller's system of bitter infusion and stomachic 
wine. On the 8th of Sept. I tried that of Dr. Cox. On the 11th of Oct. I began a 
new system of Dr. Fuller's, on Monday, after 12 o'clock in the forenoon." It appears 
from old prescriptions, that great importance was often attached by our forefathers to the 
particular time of the day when they took their medicines. 

"® " To Anne Chaloner, an old maid and poor, the daughter of my nurse, I gave 2s. 6rf." 
In the Cuckfield register there is this notice of her burial : ** Anne Chaloner was buried the 
16th Jan. 1722. A maiden of 90 years and upwards." 

III. 11 




162 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

"The carrier brought me 4 gallons of red Porto wine, 

J 6 bottles of Canary, and 7 bottles of claret. There 
d| was again brought me 4 gallons of red Porto wine ; 
^\ and on the 14th January, another vessel of pale red 
Porto wine, 4 gallons. *^^ 
" Nov. Bought of Richardson 2 yards and 3 nails of coarse 
muslin, at 4fl?. per yard, for turnover cravats for winter, 9^. Qd. 
"Allano Parsons, virtute scripti Edwardi Luxford, misi 
£2, debitum in Martii mense. Ant. Huggett decoctori, 
i$et0v oeKovri Se Ovfuo, dedi 5*."' Captivis et naufragium 
passis, £1. 

" Thom. Burrell dedi tunicam laneam duplicatam et £1, et 
Janae Luxford tuniculam laneam bs. ; Johanni Burt mente 
capto dedi tunicam et femoraUa e lana confecta, 11*. 6c?. 

" Pauperibus ex consuetudine, dedi £3 ; et ut credo aliquid 
aliud. For poor tax, £1 2*.^^» 

"Paid W. Gates his year's wages, due at 
Lady day, £3 10*.; and Mary Chaloner two 
years' wages, due 1st April, £6." 

The presents this year were of the usual sort ; a brace of 
partridges arrived on the 30th of July ; but there was no 
venison. The dinner party at Christmas much as usual as to 
the guests and the fare. 

1711, 

" April. I paid the miller for 6 bushels of wheat, £1 10*. 
" I invited Sir John Shaw, Mr. Dodson, Mr. Shore and 
wife, to dinner. 

"7 The Methuen treaty, entered into between England and Portugal in 1703, which 
was considered in those days a masterpiece of policy, though a very different opinion is 
now formed respecting it, by which the wines of Portugal were admitted into this country 
on payment of only two thirds of the duty to which the wines of France were subject, was 
now producing its full effect in making us a port-drinking people. Chiret and sack, before 
this period, were the prevailing wines. In the course of the Rev. Giles Mo(p«'s Diary, 
which includes the period between 1655 and 1672, these are the only wines mentioned ; 
port is not alluded to. 

1^ *'To Allan Parsons, in consequence of a letter from Edward Luxford, I sent i52, 
due to him in the month of March ; and to Anthony Huggett, a bankrupt, * voluntarily, 
but with no willing mind,' I gave 5«. To shipwrecked sailors, captives, £1." These pro- 
bably were our sailors shipwrecked on the coast of AMca, and made slaves of by the 
Algerines. 

"* His poor tax had doubled in the course of 25 years. In 1686 he only paid lU. 





JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 103 

" Dinner. 

A Soup taken off. 

Two large carps, at the upper encL 

Pidgeon .pie, salad, veal ollayes. 

Leg of mutton, and cutlets, at the lower end. 

Three rosted chickens, 

Scotch pancakes, tarts, asparagus, 

Three green gees, at the lower end. 

In the room of the chickens removed, 

Pour souced mackarel. 

Raspis in cream at the upper end. 

Calve8*-£6ot jelly, dried sweetmeats, calves'-foot jelly. 

Flummery, Savoy cakes, 

Imperial cream, at the lower end. 

" June. I had 26 load of hay off 
my land, and I paid the hayers 
£2 8*. ; the mowers £1 4^. Sd,, at 
20d, an acre.^^o 

" A bushel of wheat, which I got of Giles Brown, weighed 
66 lb. ; I sent it to the miller, and 2 lb., that is to say, a 
quart, was taken for toll : another bushel weighed 72 lb. 
Note. The leather meal sack weighed 6 Ib.^^^ 

" My two servants' Uveries cost £6 6^. ; their laced hats, 
£1 1*. Qd. 

" 9th Junii. Tunicam nigram laneam cum indusiis et femo- 
ralibus dedi Thos. Luxford. Fceminae, pauperi aedificandae 
casulum apud Fletching, 11*. ; Jacobi Holford, uxori puer- 
perae, 5*. ; et pro erudienda filia Chatfield, Janae Bodenham, 
marito Hawkins, £6. To Susan Hawkins, for attendance 
on my daughter, for two years, £20. 

" For 6 bushels of salt, at 5*. 4c?. the bushel, £1 12*. 

" Aug. I gave my daughter, going to Danny, £2. ; and 
on her going to Comb, £1 5*. I sent her to Highden, 
2 guineas. 

" I paid Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Selby, for mantua, petti- 
cotes, stockings, linen hood, gloves and aprons, £40 9*. 

^ Wages had been gradually creeping up in the course of 50 years ; Giles Moore, in 
1659, paid his mowers 16<f. an acre. 

^^ The average price of wheat this year was £2 a quarter. Fine as the wheat is which 
finds its way into Horsham Market, such a weight as 721bs. a bushel is not known in 
the present day. It may have been the Windsor bushel, of 9 gallons, of which he speaks. 



104 JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

" Captivis de Belisle et Dinant, \s. ; aliis captivis de 
Dinant, l^.^^a 

" 3d Dec. I received the first Gazette from the postmaster. 
" Pauperibus ex consuetudine, £3 10*. 

The presents he received this year were more than 70 in 
immber, inchiding 2 fine salt fish from a Mrs. Carrington ; 
Mrs. Stone sends some grass butter to Betty ; Sir Robt. 
Fagge half a buck and shoulder; partridges ^^ arrive in 
the middle of June ; others send him a vast carp, 150 roches, 



^ Mr. Burrell repeatedly gives money to these prisoners from Dinant; who they 
were I have not been able to ascertain : they were, probably, our soldiers made prisoners 
of war by the French, and who had been detained at that place and at Belisle. 

^ It is curious to trace the course of legislature in Eng^d, with respect to game, 
particularly as to the periods when it was lawful to take it ; and it is clear from the old 
statutes, that the English were always a preserving and a poaching people. The following 
preamble to the first statute on record, that of Henry VII, c. 17, passed 350 years ago, 
entitled, an ** Act against the taking of Fesants and Partridges," is conceived quite in the 
spirit of our own times. *' Item, for as much as divers persons, having little substance 
to live upon, use many times as well by nets, snares, and other engines, to take and 
destroy feasants and partridges, upon the lordships, manors, and tenements ci divers 
owners or possessioners of the same, without license, consent, or agreement of the same, 
by which they leese not only their pleasure and disport that they, thdr friends, and their 
servants should have about hunting, hawking, and taking of the same, but they also leese 
the profit and avail that by that occasion should grow to the household, to the great hurt 
of all lords and gentlemen, and others having great livelihood within this realme." Then 
follow the penalties. The next in order is an " Act for the Preservation of Pheasants and 
Partridges,'' passed in 1581, which states, " Whereas the game of pheasants and partridges 
is within these few years past in manner utterly decayed and destroyed in all parts of this 
realm, by means of snch as take them with nets, snares, and other engines and devices, as 
well by day as by night ; and also by such as do use hawking in the beginning of harvest, 
before the young pheasants and partridges be of any bigness, to the great spoil and hurt 
of corn and grass then growing : be it enacted, no one shall take a pheasant or partridge 
after the first day of April.'' The penalty for such offence was 20«. for a pheasant, and 
109. for a partridge, or one month's imprisonment. The next limitation of time took place 
in 1761. By the 2 Geo. Ill, c. 19, the time for taking partridges was fixed between the 
12th of February and 1st of September; that for taking pheasants, as it is at present, 
between the 1st of February and the Ist of October ; and the 30 Geo. Ill, c. 34, passed in 
1799, placed the kilhng of partridges, between the 1st of September and the 1st of Fe- 
bruary. There was an Act, the 13 Geo. Ill, 1779, fixing the periods when black game 
and grouse might be killed, which is curious as determining the time when the bustard, 
a bird which has now totally disappeared, might not be killed, namely, between the 1st of 
March and the 1st of September. 

With respect to venison, it would be endless to enter into an account of the laws for the 
preservation of deer. Suffice it to say, that vnthout meaning any refiection upon Mr. 
Burrell or his friends, it seems clear from the following passage from an old writer on 





JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 165 

half a saumon; Mrs. Shore and Edward Virgo send his 
daughter a coffee-mill, tatters (query), and iron cakes. 

1712. 

" Janse Mathews apud sacram synaxin, 1^. ; WiUo Bond, 
prodigo incarcerato, 5^. ; Rapley ad synaxin, 1^.^^* 

" For half a gross of corks, of a cork-cutter from fB IB 
Southwark, at 18d, per gross, 9d. Ill Hi 

" June. To a poor-tax, £1 2^. ; for 6 
month's tax, due at Lady-day, £2 2^. ; for 
money, £600, £2 8*. P^ for 2 years' window 
tax, £2 10*. 

" July. Dedi Mariae Mackarel, abeunti a Cuckfield, cum vir 
ejus exuebatur officio excisi, 2^, Qd, 

" I paid the saddler, for plasters, ointment, pec- 
torals, purges, for John Lord's head, eyes, wrist, 
knee, foot, and lung, 14^. lld,^^ 

" I gave James Rapley, when he helped Gosmarke mowing, 
as an encouragement, 2^. Qd. 

" Captivis apud Fez dedi £1. Incarceratis captivis a 
Jamaica, Is,^'^^ Pauperibus ex consuetudine, £3 ; et aliquid 

forest laws, that so long as they got their venison, our ancestors were not very particular 
whence it came. He says, " Budaeus reporteth this old verse of venison — 
* Non est inquirendum unde venit venison. 
Nam si forte furto sit sola fides sufficet.' *' 

Which he quaintly translates thus — 

" Venison cometh,. 
It is not to he inquired from whence ; 
For if by chance it stolen bee, 
A good beliefe sufficeth thee." 

Manwood's Treatise on Forest Laws. 
^ " To Jane Mathews, at the holy communion, I gave \s, ; to WiUy Bond, a spendthrift, 
who had got into gaol, 5«. ; to Rapley, for the communion, 1«." 

^26 The fall and the saddler together were fatal to the coachman ; he died in a few 
monthB, and was buried the 4th August, 1712. 

^ " To the captives at Fez I gave ^1. ; to the imprisoned captives from Jamaica, 1#." 
The fate of Christian slaves taken by the Barbary corsairs, naturally enough excited the 
intense sympathy of our forefathers ; and whilst many a sincere prayer was offered up to 
the Lord to " show his pity upon all prisoners and captives," large sums were subscribed 
and liberal bequests made for their redemption from slavery. Whether they took the wisest 
course to put an end to the practice of piracy by so doing is another question. The sums 
left for this purpose became, in after ages, a subject of much embarrassment and litigation. 




166 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

aliud. Dean aurifabris uxori Zelotypae, et ea de causa mente 
lapsae sed lascivse ut accepi postea, 6rf. 

" The smoky cow, bought of Gatland, 
for £4 15*., calved a cow calf, a stout 
calf." 

Among the presents of this year Jo. Hurst sends him a 
noble dish of trouts ; from others he receives a poor leveret, a 
leveret bruised, a fine goos, a noble hare, 13 pigeons ; and 
Mrs. Dodson sends him a number of oatcakes. Besides his 
usual Christmas dinner parties, he invites several of his poorer 
neighbours to dine with him on Sundays. Several dinner 
parties are recorded ; among others, the following is no bad 
specimen of a bill of fare, when Mr. Shaw, Mr. Sergison 
and family, Mr. Dodson, Mr. Shore and his wife, ^ed 
with him. 

The first case in which this species of charity has been alluded to (which has been kindly 
communicated to me), occurs in the 43d of Elizabeth, where it is enumerated among the 
many others which had been abused, and which called for inquiry and reform. The next 
in point of date on record was that of a Lady Mico : in the year 1670 she gave a moiety of 
X2000 towards the redemption of poor slaves, directmg her executors to dispose of the 
yearly interest of that sum, as they thought best, to redeem some yearly. The piracy 
which caused this legacy in process of time ceased,' and this £1000, left quietly to accu- 
mulate, in the year 1827 had swelled into £115,510. The scheme ultimately arranged by 
the Court of Chancery for the disposal of this large fund was, that it should be placed 
under the management of trustees, three of whom are to be appointed by the Colonial 
Secretary, and the income is applied to the promotion of education in the British Colonies. 
Lady Russell, writing in 1686, mentions <' the noble legacy of £3000, left by Sir W. 
Coventry,'' to the same purpose. No one seems to know anything about this money; and 
no doubt the Charity Commissioners would be glad to be informed upon the point, and 
put upon the scent. In the year 1728 another bequest was made, which occasioned infinite 
trouble. A Mr. Betton left his property to the Ironmongers Company, in trust, that 
half of it should be applied to the redemption of British slaves in Turkey and Barbary, and 
a fourth part to the promotion of Church education in the schools in the parishes of 
London and its suburbs. In 1840 the sum appUcable to the redemption of slaves 
amounted to £100,000, 3 per cents., besides an annual income of more than £1000 a 
year. As there were no slaves, it was decided by the Court of Chancery that the income 
should be applied to the promotion of charity schools in England and Wales, but that none 
should receive more than £20, a stipulation which has in eifect very much neutralized the 
whole benefit of the charity. 

With respect to the captives from J,^maica, it is not very clear who they were ; it is very 
possible they may have been the remnant of those who, in 1694, were taken by a Monsieur 
Du Casse, the governor of Hispaniola, who in that year landed on the island with a con- 
siderable force, ravaged with great cruelty the settlement, and, though ultimately defeated, 
carried off with him a great booty and a considerable number of prisoners. 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BUREELL, ESQ. 167 

A peue pottage, which hdug taken off, 

A haunch of yenison. 

Salad. 

Lemon pudding on one side. Scotch collops on the other. 

Leg of mutton, rost. 

Cutlets at lower end. 

A venison pasty. 

Two large chickens, rosted. 

Scotch pancakes. Kidney pies. 

(rooseberry tart. 

Fried plaice. 

Raspis in cream jellie. Imperial cream. 

Flummery. Plain cream. 

Codlings. 

" Pauperibus ex consuetudine £3, et aliquid aliud, et quo- 
tidie ultra parochianis, militibus mancis, egentibus, rude 
donatis, meritis et aliis . . . ." ^^^ 

" Paid Sharp for shoes, and for mending John Lord's, 10^. 
To 6. Virgoe, for 3 shirt clothes for him, 15^., and for making 
the shirts, 1*. 6d, 

1713. 

" March 25th. I made an allowance of £80 per annum to 
my daughter.*^® 

" 7th April. P* Rapley. his half year's wages, due at Lady 
day, £2 5*. I gave him more, 15*. 

"18th May. I paid to Sister Goring for bills for her, 
£50 13*. Por setting the diamonds, £7. I gave her going 
to Comb, £5, and to Highden, £5. Por cards, 5*. more. To 
Venlowe for stayes,^^^ £5 19*. Her total expenses were 
£89 Us. Id. 

" 7th April. I bought a chees weighing 18 lbs. for 
2f fl?. the lb. It was all eaten in the kitchen by the 
18th. 

^ '' To the poor, according to custom, £3, and something more, and daily, beyond this, 
to parishioners, wounded soldiers and sailors, poor creatures, pensioners, and others, I 
don't know how much." 

^^ His daughter was married to Mr. Treror on the 2d of February, 1715. She died in 
about two years, leaving one daughter. The exact time of her death is not ascertained, as 
there is no record of her burial, either at Cuckfield or at Glynde. Mr. Trevor, who after- 
wards became Lord Trevor, survived her many years. 

^ A museum of female armour and costume is still a desideratum. Were there such, 
we should probably have seen such a specimen as this highly embroidered. It was very 
costly, as compared with its present price, which I am credibly informed would be about JS3. 




168 



JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BtJREELL, ESQ. 




"Sept. 19th. Maria Dodson venit hqspes futurus, abiit 3rd 
Nov., 7 weeks. 



"10th Oct. Pandoxavi qumque cados cere- 
visisB fortis.*^ 



" 13th Oct. P Curtis for 12 dozen of candles, 
£3 11*. ; for 10 dozen of soap, £1 10*. His 
receipt : ' Rec<>. of Mr. Timothy Burrell, Esq,, the 
sume of five pounds and won shillen, in full for 12 
doz» of candls, and 10 dozen of soap. 
Edw. Curtis.'" 

As this year was the last in which any account is given of 
his Christmas dinners, the list of his guests, and the bill of 
fare are inserted. 

"Invited at Christmas, 1711. 



Mr. Stabley, Ux.ab8., 
Chas. Sayage, Ux, abs., 
W. Gatland, Ux. abs., 
Rd. Burt, 

J. Warden, Ux. abs., 
Jo. Sturt, 
Wm. Banester, 
Thos. Gates, 
Wm. Heasman, 
Thos. Ives, 
Thos. Uwins, 
Wm. Aynsoombe, 
Mrs. Langford, 





Mrs. Burt, 

Thos. Canon, 

Edw. Virgoe, 

Jo. Hurst, 

Thos. Warden, Ux. abs., 

Rd.Crunden, 

Rd. Virgoe, Ux. abs., 

W. West, 

Mrs. Mathers, abs., 

Mrs. Luxford. abs., 

James Stone, 

WiU. Hedger, 

Jo. Chatfield. 



i» " 10th Oct. I brewed 5 casks of stnmg ale." 



JOURNAL OP TIMOTHY BUERELL, ESQ. 



169 



Dinner. 



3d January. 

Plumm broatfa, 

Leg of mutton boiled, 

Two capons, 

Hog*8 chine rosted, 

A pig, 

Rump sirloin rost beef, 

A pig, 

A goos, 

Plumm broath. 

Rump of beef. 

Two baked puddings, 
Three dishes of minced pies. 

Two dishes of tarts, 
Two pulletS; 
Two rabbets. 




4th January. 

Plumm broath, 

A pig, 

Mutton pasty, 

A hare. 

A goos, 

Plumm broath. 

Rib of rost beef, 

A goos. 

Leg of mutton rosted. 

Clod of beef boiled, 

Plumm broath. 

Two baked puddings. 
Three dishes of minced pies. 

Two capons. 
Two pullets, 
Two dishes of tarts." »« 



In future his humbler friends were invited in parties of 
two or three on Sundays. Among many other good things 
sent him are — lO large carp, a noble trout, half a buck, a 
haunch of venison, a side of poor venison from Mr. Spence, 
a pyke 3 feet and half long, 6 dozen of wheat-ears, 20 
whitings, &c. &c. 




1714. 

"March 25th. I paid the maltman for 
10 bushels of malt, at 3^. 6d, the bushel, 
£1 15*. 

" 26th. I bought of Gatland at Sotheram, a coach-horse, 
five years old, for £16. Blind ! 

^ Such hospitalities as these, when, at the joyous season of Christmas, the rich and 
poor met sodally together, were probably conmion in those days. It is certain that they 
were exercised by Evelyn at Wootton, for on the 26th Dec. 1656, he says : " I invited 
some of my ndghbours and tenants, according to custom, and to preserve hospitality and 
charity.'' The custom has fallen into disuse ; and thus another bond of happy union, 
connecting the different classes of society, has been broken. 



170 JOURNAL OP TIirOTHY BUHREJiL, ESQ. 



/^: 




^ April 9th. Paid Bapley his year's wages, £5.^^^ 
I For 8 gallons of white wine, I payd £2 8*., and for 
the vessel, 2s. 
' To Wat Chaloner for materials for making J. Bennett's 
livery coat, waistcoat, and breeches, with a laced hat, £3 5*. 
For a lb. of loaf sugar I paid 1*. 4rf.*^ 

"I paid Nanny West her year's wages due 25th 
March, and 5«. over, £2 bs. 

i 

"Paid Mr. Walter half a year's rent for Sandboumes, 
£4 10^.*^ 

The presents this year fell off sadly, both in quantity and 
quality ; they do not exceed 31 in number — a partridge 
arrives early in July, 4 more in August from Mrs. Sergison, 
and Mrs. Lyddell sends him erysipelas medicine. 

1715. 

" 24th June. By Jo. Dyke I paid James Rapley's 
wages, from 4th April to the 25th July, after his death, 
£1 13^. M. 

*' 11th Aug. I paid Mary Cook her year's wages, 
£2 15^.*'^ 



"For 18 ells, at 7*. 8^?. the ell, for whole shirts, 
I gave £3 10*. 

^ Warned by the fall and &te of his old coachman, Mr. Buirell evidently had con- 
Terted his successor into a postilion. 

^ The finest loaf sugar may now be bought for 6<f. or Id, a pound. '* In 1662/' says 
Giles Moore, <* I gave to Mr. Lysle's wife, at whose house I lodged, a sugar loafe of 4 lb.» 
and an ounce of the best double-refined sugar, costing Is" The sugar loaf seems to have 
been a usual complimentary present in those days. Take, for instance, the six sugar 
loaves presented by the dean uid chapter, as a matter of course, to the judges of assise at 
Salisbury ; and the pair which were sent by Sir John Croke to Sir M. Hale, at Aylesbury, 
and which the worthy judge indignantly returned. (Lord Campbell, Life of Sir M. Hale.) 

^ The Sandboumes are in extent between thirteen and fourteen acres, the present rental 
of which is now £2 an acre, or about three times as much as in the days of Mr. BunreU ; 
and this is probably a fiiir exponent of the di£ference of rent generally at these respective 
periods. 

^ In the course of 30 years there had been a sligfat, but very alight, increase in ser- 
vant's wages. In 1686 he paid his cook 50«. a year. 





JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 171 

This year tKe only presents recorded are seven in number 
dish of asparagus, 2 rabbets, cherries, carrotts, a goose, 
8 lemons, and a fat goose. 

" St. James's Day. 

"25th July, 1715. 

" I gave over housekeeping, and my son-in-law Trevor 
began to keep house the day and year above written." 

For the two years and a half during which Mr. Burrell 
survived this arrangement, which proved to be an unhappy 
one, the notices in his Journal are very scanty. He mentions 
some few, but probably very few (only seven in number), of 
the presents which he received in 1715 ; and an increased, 
though not a large number, iu the following year. The last 
entry in his book occurs only a fortnight before his death, on 
the 10th of December, 1717, and is accompanied by a drawing 
of a hog shut up to fatten, which, without the context, no one 
would imagine was intended to represent that animal. He 
died on the 26th December, 1717, aged 75 ; and it would 
seem, from the following iuscription on his monument iu 
Cuckfield church, raised to his memory by his brothers, 
Walter and Peter Burrell, that the loss oi his daughter 
hastened his end. 

Juxta sepultus est 

TIMOTHEUS BURRELL, 

Cujus natales 

Vicina indicant mannora, 

Virtutem, ingenium, 

Nulla. 

Ad Jurisprudentise laudem, 

Accessit Optimarum Artimn studimn ; 

Ad Pietatis et Beneficentise splendorem, 

Adjunxit humanitatis cultum. 

Totus profuit, 

Totus delectavit. 

Unicam prolem Elizabetham ; 

At multanun instar, 

Incertum an -viyam constantius amaTit, 

An defunctam acerfoius flevit. 

Certe tantae calamitatis din non superfuit. 

Obiit die 26 Decembris, anno salutis, 1717. 

iEtatis suae 75. 



172 JOURNAL OF TIMOTHY BURRELL, ESQ. 

Neither his friends, his servants, nor the poor of the parish, 
were forgotten in his will. To Sir Charles Goring he left 
£250, and, as before stated, remitted the £50 which had been 
left to him by his sister, Christiana Goring ; and to Emma 
Comwallis, the sister of Sir Job Charlton, £300, in considera- 
tion of the considerable portions which he had received with 
his first two wives. To Peter Burrell he left £250, to 
each of his other brothers £100 ; and to his nephew, Timothy, 
the sum of £20 a year, to be paid to him during his residence 
at the University, and to be continued to him till he obtained 
some preferment worth at least £30 a year — a proof of the 
cheapness of an University education, and the moderate 
views of emolument of the clergy in those days.*^^ To 
his infant grand-daughter he seems to have transferred much 
of that aflFection which he felt for her mother. Besides his 
estates he mentions a number of small matters, which he 
leaves to her on her marriage or her coming of age ; among 
others those which he evidently much prized, " his rare silver 
plate," and " his curious collection of gold coins." To his old 
secretary, Edward Virgoe, he leaves £100; to Anne West, 
£20; and to Susan Hawkins £10 a year, so long as she 
continues a widow. To the £30 bequeathed by Mr. Middleton, 
for educating poor children he adds £20 more ; and he gives 
£100 to be laid out in the purchase of land, the interest to be 
appUed for the distribution of bread among 6 poor persons of 
the parish. 

^ " Parson Adams/' says Fielding, about 1740, " at the age of fifty was provided with 
a handsome income of £23 a year, which/' adds the author, *^ he could not make any 
great figure with, because he lived in a dear county, and vras a little encumbered vrith a 
wife and six children." 



EBRATA. 

P. 122, 1. 13, for Vinabo, read Vinall. 

128, 16, for Sir Chris. Lewis, read Sir C. Levins. 
136, L 4 from bottom, for or bucking, read a bucking. 
149, 11, for Sanctse, read Sancti. 



ON THE 

MILITARY EARTHWORKS OF THE SOUTHDOWNS, 

WITH A MORE ENLARGED ACCOUNT OF CISSBURY, 

ONE OP THE PRINCIPAL OP THEM. 

BY THE REV. EDWARD TURNER. 

(read at the BRIGHTON MEETING, APRIL, 1849.)' 



The Military Earthworks, which are occasionally met with 
in traversing the Southdowns, and which are probably con- 
nected with an early ^ if not the very earliest known history 
of the county, stand prominently forward to invite the con- 
sideration and inquiry of the Sussex Archaeologist. I call 
these Earthworks military, because, though a few of them 
might have been, and I am disposed to think were, of Druidical 
origin, the generally received opinion is, that the greater part 
of them were formed for the purposes of miUtary encampment 
and fortification. 

Of these earthworks, some are situated on the northern 
ridge of the Downs ; no doubt as places of refuge and defence 
against invaders, from what is now called " the Weald '' of 
Sussex; others occur more to the south, being obviously so 
placed as a protection against hostile attacks from the sea coast ; 
while two or three are to be found in situations about midway 
between these two ; probably as additional places of retreat, 
or as links of communication. 

Viewed in a military light, these earthworks are precisely 
in the position, in which we should expect to find them. For 
not only are they so arranged as to form a regular chain of 
hill forts ; but their situation, on some of the most prominent 
eminences of these Downs, naturally affords not only all the 
requisites for military observation, but also the strongest points 
of defence, that could well be met with on these chalk hills. 

With regard to those found on some of the most northern 
elevations of the Downs ; we have, beginning at the western 



174 MILITARY BARTHWOBKS OF 

extremity of the county, the earthworks of Heyshot, near 
Midhurst, which measure in circuit about half a mile. Next 
occur those of Chenkbury, near Steyning, the area inclosed by 
which is about two furlongs in diameter. Then those of the 
Devil's Dyke near Poynings, the ramparts of which are about 
a mile in circumference. Then those of Wolstanbury, a pro- 
jecting hill immediately above Hurstperpoint, the area of which 
is about a furlong in diameter. Then those of Ditchling Hill, 
the ramparts of which measure about 60 rods by 50. The 
old via, up the northern face of the Downs, which must have 
been formed at a very early period, as an approach to this 
earthwork from the Weald, still exists, except the lower part, 
destroyed by the formation of a chalk-pit. Much of it is very 
deeply cut, the earth being thrown out so as to form a very 
bold and secure vallum on the north side of it. Its width at 
the bottom is about four feet. About half way up the hill this 
via turns off to the west in a most remarkable manner, and 
after being carried round a lofty mound formed by the earth, 
heaped up in the centre, during the process of its formation, 
comes into the direct via again, about twenty yards higher up. 
And, lastly, occur the earthworks of Mount Caubum, above 
Ringmer, which, though they are scarcely three furlongs in 
circumference, are constructed with a double vallum, the outer 
being broader and deeper than the inner, and having its in- 
most rampart rising very bold and high. Near to this, on the 
same MQ, is another earthwork of much larger dimensions, the 
outlines of the ramparts of which are now very faintly to be 
traced, but of which enough remains to enable us to discover 
what was its original structure and shape. 

With regard to those earthworks situated on the southern 
eminences towards the sea coast, we have, commencing from 
the west, first, the earthworks of the Broil, near Chichester, 
which are constructed as an additional outer fortification to 
this city, on the north side, at that time the most accessible, 
and consequently most open to attack. The form is that of 
two sides of a square, each side being a mile in length. Next 
are those of Highdown Hill, in Ferring (omitting for the pre- 
sent those of Burpham, near Arundel), the area of which 
measures 300 by about 180 feet. Then those of Cissbury, 
near Findon, wluch are by far the largest and most striking of 



THE SOUTHDOWNS. 175 

these earthworks, a more particular description and history of 
which I shall presently give. Then those of White Hawk Hill, 
above Brighton, which have a triple vaUuni. Of this many 
parts were levelled by the formation of the Brighton race- 
course, at the southern extremity of which it was unfortunately 
situated, but of which a sufficiency still remains to show its 
form, and that it inclosed an area of about five acres, the 
outermost trench of this earthwork being about three quarters 
of a mile in circumference. Then come those of the Castle 
Hill at Newhaven, which inclose an area of about six acres; 
and those of the Castle at Seaford, which are situated on a hill 
opposite to this, and which inclose an area of about twelve 
acres. There is also a similar earthwork on a hill near to 
Birling Gap, inclosing a high and also isolated portion of the 
cliff, the circumference of which measures about three quarters 
of a mile. There are also two earthworks in the parish of 
Telscombe, which, though they are at present in a very im- 
perfect state, appear to have been once strongly fortified, each 
containing from twelve to fifteen acres. 

Of the intermediate range, we have the earthworks of 
Chilgrove and Bowhill, the former of small dimensions, but 
having a very distinct double vallum ; the latter much larger, 
and on the apex of a very prominent hill, inclosing an area of 
about fifteen acres. Near to these, but on the opposite side 
of the valley of Siagleton, are the earthworks of the Trundle, 
above Goodwood, the diameter of the area of which is about 
two furlongs, and which has a double vallum. The last are 
those of Hollingbury Castle, which are situated about midway 
between Ditchlmg and White Hawk Hill, on the old road fi-om 
Ditchling to Brighton, which is erroneously supposed to be a 
Roman road. This earthwork is, in many respects, very 
similar to that of the Trundle, having a double vallum, the 
ramparts of which are thrown up very high. The area in- 
closed is about six acres. 

There is also a hill rising immediately above the valley of 
the Arun at North Stoke, still called Camp HUl, upon the 
summit of which may be faintly traced the remains of an 
ancient earthwork, the greater part of which has been levelled 
by the plough. This is supposed to have been connected with 
the extensive military vallations in the adjoining parish of 



176 MILITARY EARTHWORKS OF 

Burpham, to which I have abready alluded, and which, appear 
to me to belong to a range evidently constructed for the de- 
fence of the valleys of the tide rivers, by the intervention of 
which the continuous line of the Downs is occasionally broken. 
Those of Newhaven and Seaford may be considered as falling 
under this class. 

The remains of earthworks also exist at Selsey, close to the 
churchyard, and at Hardham, near Pulborough, the former of 
which is circular and the latter square. That at Hardham is 
considered to be the exact " ad decimam" point on the Roman 
via from Regnum to Dorking. But of these I shall not say 
more, my subject confining me to the ancient earthworks of 
the Downs. 

The hills on which these earthworks are placed are elevated 
very considerably above the ordinary level of the Downs, and 
are from 600 to 900 feet above the level of the sea. 

The portae of these fortified posts are, for the most part, 
still very distinctly to be traced. Those on the northern ridge 
of the Downs are on the east, west, and south ; those on the 
southern ridge, on the east, west, and north sides. The situa- 
tion of the portae in the intermediate range differs in all. 
Those of Bowhill are to the east, west, and south ; and those 
of the Trundle to the east, west, and north ; while those of 
HoUingbury, differing from all the others, are double to the 
east and west, and single on the south sides, the double portae 
being about fifty-five yards from each other. 

With regard to the date of these earthworks, it is, like their 
history generally, involved in much uncertainty. But little is 
known on this important point beyond what we are enabled to 
gather from their shape, or perhaps their names. Tacitus 
describes the British under Caractacus as occupying fortified 
posts on high hills ; and he tells us farther, that wherever this 
general found these eminences easy of access, he blocked up 
the posts with dry walls.^ (V. Annal. lib. xii, ch. 33.) This, 
then, is the earliest allusion we have to these ancient for- 
tresses. No instance, however, of this kind of wall occurs 
on any part of the Southdowns. Probably, in the absence 

1 The dry masonry, of the ancient British fortress on a hill above Weston-super-Mare in 
Somersetshire, commonly called " Worle Hill," is an instance of this kind of defence. Are 
the stones on Saxonbury Hill the remains of an ancient British fortress of this sort ? 



THE SOUTHDOWNS. 177 

of stone, ramparts of earth may have been substituted for 
them. We know that the fortifications of the ancient Britons 
were circular, or as near to that shape as the circumstances of 
their particular locality admitted. To them, then, we attribute 
the earthworks of the hill above Chilgrove ; of the Trundle ; 
of Heyshot ; of Chenkbury ; of Cissbury ; of Highdown Hillj 
as far as we can judge of its form, this being one of the most 
irregular earthworks on the Downs ; of Wolstanbury ; of 
HoUingbury -^ of Whitehawk Hill ; of Caubum ; as well as 
those of Newhaven, Seaford, and Birling Gap. We also know, 
that the fortified encampments of the Romans were square ;^ 
to them, then, we attribute the construction of those situated 
at the Broil, and on Ditchling Hill ; and also the southern 
fortification on Mount Gauburn, as well as that of Telscombe, 
which are now, or which were originally, square, but the form 
of some of which has been altered, by the angles having been 
rounded off at a later period, probably by the Saxons, after 
they fell into their possession; for I incline myself to the 
opinion, that neither the Saxons nor the Danes originated any 
earthworks in this country. The attacks of the Danes were 
generally by predatory incursion, and they seldom left their 
ships long ; and as to the Saxons, they availed themselves of 
those abeady formed to their hands, altering the shape of such 
as were not in accordance with their habits. And hence 
arises the difficulty of speaking with any degree of certainty 
on the date of some of these earthworks, judging from their 
shape alone. 

But this does not apply to Gissbury, a description of which 
remarkable and interesting fort I shall now proceed to give, 
noting at the same time some errors which historians, both 
ancient and modem, have fallen into in the accounts given 
of it. 

Even at this distant period, its present aspect shows it to 
have imdergone but little change ; and on this account much 
of the difficulty which presents itself in investigating others, 

^ This earthwork has hitherto been represented as square, but by a very careful 
admeasurement and inspection, I am able to pronounce its shape to be decidedly circular. 

3 For an account of the mode by which the Romans fortified their encampments, by means 
of stout stakes fixed as on the top of the agger, v. Procopius. In forming a ditch across 
the encampment at Hardham, some of the parts of these palisades which had been driven 
into the ground were discovered, blackened by age. 

III. 12 



178 MILITARY EARTHWORKS OP 

from the alteration which time and circumstances have wrought 
in them, is in this case thus removed. 

This extensive earthwork incloses an area of about sixty 
acres, and has a single vallum, varying in depth from eight to 
twelve feet, according to the nature of the apex of the hill, the 
oval shape of which it necessarily follows, and a rampart of 
considerable width and height. The approaches to it were by 
roads formed on the east, south, and north sides of this hill. 
Of these, that on the south side, towards the sea coast, was the 
principal means of access, the road running to the east being, 
as I shall presently show, apparently a pass to the Roman 
station at lancing ; and that to the north intended to connect 
tins point with the earthwork at Chenkbury, from which it is 
distant about two miles, and with the Weald. The diflferent 
passes through the entrenchment connected with these roads 
are still very perfect. 

I shall now proceed to notice some of the misrepresentations 
connected with the history of this Hill Fort, to which I have 
already alluded; and jfirst of that connected with its name 
" Cissbury." 

Camden asserts this name to have been obtained from Cissa, 
the second in succession of the line of South Saxon Kings. 
" Hard by," says that generally accurate antiquary and tope- 
^apher, speaking, in his * Britannia,' of OflSngton, of which 
estate Cissbury is parcel, " hard by there is a fort compassed 
about with a bank rudely cast up ; wherewith the inhabitants 
are persuaded that Caesar entrenched and fortified his camp : 
but Cissbury, the name of the place, doth plainly shew and 
testify that it was the work of Cissa." Rapin followed the 
opinion of Camden. 

That Cissbury might have been occupied by Cissa, during 
some period of his unusually long reign, seems very probable ; 
and that, from some cause or other not recorded, it received 
from him its present name, appears likely. The sound seems, 
as Camden says, to guarantee the fact; but that it was first 
built or fortified by Cissa, is altogether a mistake ; there being 
abundant evidence of its existence some centuries before the 
time of Cissa. 

In proof of this, I need only refer to the evidence which it 
still bears of Roman occupation. In the centre of the fort the 



THE SOUTHDOWNS. 179 

foundations of a praetorimn are still to be traced under the soil 
in a very dry season; and to the east it was apparently 
connected by a road with the important Roman station, dis- 
covered in the year 1828, on Lancing Down, about two miles 
from Cissbury. This Way, a considerable portion of which is 
now to be seen, is, much of it, fortified by a rampart on the 
north «ide of it. For though it is supposed to have been 
constructed for the express purpose of a communication with 
the wells of Applesham (from which place alone, as far as we 
can at present judge, water in sufficient quantity could have 
been obtained for the use of the fort), still Applesham could 
not well have been reached, without passing Lancing Hill. It 
appears then very probable, that for the purpose of securing a 
sufficient supply from this source, the Eoman Praetor abandoned 
Cissbury, and took up his station on Lancing Hill : the remains 
of a tesselated pavement and other relics of a superior kind, 
discovered on this lull, plainly showing that it was not the 
station of the explorator of the district, as has been supposed, 
but a praetorian villa. 

To this evidence of the Roman occupation of Cissbury we 
may add the fact of many Roman coins, and some Roman 
pottery of a very curious kind, having been found in the garden 
and paddock of Mr. Wyatt, at the foot of the hill ; and also 
the remarkable circumstance of about three quarters of an 
acre of land, sloping immediately from about the centre of the 
south side of the fosse, and sheltered on the east and west 
sides by rising hills, being called within the memory of per- 
sons now living " the Vineyard,'' a spot which must strike 
every one visiting this interesting locality as pecuHarly well 
adapted to the cidture of the vine, which the Romans are sup- 
posed to have first introduced into this country. I am well 
aware that this is a disputed point, and will refer those who 
wish for farther information upon it to the papers of Pegge 
and Daines Barrington, which are to be found in some of the 
early nmnbers of the * Archaeologia/ This, connected with 
Cissbury, is, I believe, the only instance of the name being 
retained in Sussex. In Worcestershire it is by no means un- 
common for fields in the immediate vicinity of Roman stations 
to be called " the Vines," or " the Vineyards." 



180 MILITARY EARTHWORKS OF 

So far, then, we have, I think, satisfactory proof of Cissbiiry 
having been occupied as a Roman station some centuries 
before the time of Cissa. 

In determining that it was not of Roman formation, but of 
much earUer date, and therefore that the tradition of the in- 
habitants of the neighbourhood of Cissbury, to which Camden 
alludes, is altogether erroneous, I need only refer to the cir- 
cumstance, that we have no historical evidence to show that 
Caesar himself, or any part of the army which, during his 
sojourn in this country, he personally commanded, were at any 
time within the limits of this county. But in addition to this, 
we have the fact of the circular shape of this earthwork, which 
determines it not to have been of Roman construction. Nor 
is there the slightest reason for supposing, that the form of 
the vallum and agger were ever diflferent from what they now 
are. I have examined the whole with the greatest minuteness, 
and have been unable to discover the slightest trace of 
Saxon alteration. It must then have been of ancient British 
formation ; and happily there is much both of internal and ex- 
ternal evidence, to support us in arriving at such a conclusion. 

For, in the first place, on the western slope of the area 
inclosed by the vallum there are a considerable number of 
excavations, at the distance of about twelve feet from each 
other, the outermost of which appear in some measure to 
range in a line with the vallum; but the innermost to be 
placed irregularly. These excavations are all of them circular, 
but differ much in their size, varying in diameter from twelve 
to about twenty-five feet at the surface, and varying also in 
their depth. 

That they were not intended as reservoirs for water, as has 
been conjectured, and which at first a casual observer might 
imagine to have been the case, their position in the fort, as 
well as the situation of this fort upon the summit of a high 
chalk lull, at once convinces us. That they were intimately 
connected with the first formation of the fort itself is very 
evident ; but to what purpose were they originally appUed ? 
Cartwright, in the very brief description which he gives of this 
interesting relic of antiquity, suggests that they were the " site 
of rude huts ; and this circumstance," he adds, '' and the 



THE SOUTHDOWNS. 181 

appearance of burnt bones and fragments of vessels of un- 
baked clay, which have been found in the neighbourhood, are 
considered as indications of ancient British origin." 

It is true, we learn from the earliest writers on Britain, that 
the habitations of its first inhabitants were huts, covered 
sometimes with skins, at other times with branches of trees 
or turf; and that where the dryness of the situation would 
admit of it, the dwellings which they so protected from the 
inclemency of the weather, were holes ordy, made in the 
ground, and so arranged as to be near each other, the whole 
being protected by a slight embankment of earth. Still this 
description will not apply, as they cannot be called slight 
embankments. What then were they ? No doubt " Ponds,'' 
or as Dr. Stukely called them, " JDishbarrows' — ^those " holy, 
consecrated recesses," as Governor Pownal calls them, formed 
for the special purpose of forwarding the celebration of the 
religious ceremonies of the ancient Britons, during their 
sojourn in these hill forts.* Barrows of the same kind, but 
much fewer in number, are to be found within the inclosures 
of the Trundle, Wolstonbury, and HoUingbury, and in the 
immediate neighbourhood of others. 

Upon the whole, then, there can, I think, be no doubt that 
Cissbury is an ancient British fortress, and that I have rightly 
placed it in that class. The subsequent Roman occupation 
probably arose from the defeat and dispossession of its earlier 
possessors, as the result of some of the conflicts which took 
place during their hostile excursions from the great forest of 
Anderida, which was their stronghold, or perhaps after the 
reduction of the proviQce of the Regni, and the submission of 
Cogidunus to the Roman sway, under Vespasian. 

As to the probable period of Cissa's connection with this 
fort, Sussex, we know, was one of the most inconsiderable of 
the kingdoms forming the Saxon heptarchy. Erom the Saxon 
annals we learn, that Ella was its first king ; that upon the 
decline of the power of Hengist, having been invited to this 
country, he landed with three of his sons, of whom Cissa was 
the youngest, in the year 476, at Cymenshore, supposed to 
be Wittering, near Chichester; that after many struggles, 

^ On the north and south sides of Stonehenge, just within the yallum, are two circular 
holes similar to those at Cissbury. 



182 MILITAET EARTHWOUKS OF 

attended with varied success and much bloodshed, he succeeded 
in driving the Britons back into the great Forest, till, in the 
year 491, having determined to annihilate them, he laid siege 
to Andredcester, probably Pevensey ; and not succeeding in 
his operations against it, he immediately assumed the title of 
king of Sussex. 

In tUs war Cissa is supposed, as one of his father's generals, 
to have possessed himself of Cissbury, during his march east- 
wards, from Cymenshore to Anderida. But if dates are to be 
depended upon at this early and uncertain period, this could 
not have been the case ; nor, indeed, could he have then held 
command in his father's army. According to the best histo- 
rical evidences, Cissa succeeded his father in the kingdom, of 
Sussex in the year 514, and is recorded to have held the 
kingdom 75, or, as Stow says, 76 years. Had he then been 
no more than a year old when he accompanied his father to 
this country (which was not very likely to be the case, for in 
a warlike expedition, why should Ella have encumbered him- 
self with the charge of a mere infant), he must, at his death, 
have attained the age of 116 years ; and if we make him old 
enough to command an army at that tune, his age at his de- 
cease must have been patriarchal indeed 1 There can, how- 
ever, be no doubt that incorrect dates have involved this very 
interesting epoch in the history of our county in much 
confusion. 

As, then, Cissa's connection with Cissbury must have been 
at some later period of his life, I would suggest, that, having 
succeeded his father in the sovereignty of Sussex, he estab- 
lished himself, as we know, in the western part of it ; and, 
finding Chichester already fortified to his hands, he made it 
the capital of his new dynasty, changing its name from 
Regnum to Cissan Ceaster. Cissa's was a peaceful reign. 
Disgusted, probably, with war and all its attendant horrors, 
from what he must have witnessed when young, he appears 
to have yielded without opposition when hostilely pressed 
upon by neighbouring powers. The views of the Saxons, 
like those of the Romans, tended more to an extension of 
power, than to the increase of the blessings of civilized life ; 
and it is not to be wondered at, that of the military doings 
of the South Saxons, during the reign of Cissa and his imme- 



THE SOUTHDOWNS. 183 

diate successors, beyond the fact of their being confined 
principally to the defensive, we know nothing. But this is 
suflficient for our purpose. For this it was that led him so 
thoroughly to repair the fortifications of Chichester, that he is 
jsaid by Camden and others to have rebuilt it. And as this 
would be his western stronghold, so Cissbury would oflfer an 
eUgible post, already strongly fortified both by nature and 
by art, as a place of defence towards the centre ; commanding 
an uninterrupted view of the coast firom Beachy Head to 
Selsey Bill, and also of the Portus Adumi of the Romans, 
fix)m which foreign invasion was most to be dreaded. And 
having adopted this as a military fort, he would naturally 
give his own name to it, as, upon taking possession of 
Regnum, he had done to that fortified city. 

One word in conclusion, on those earthworks to which I 
have alluded as, in my opinion, possessing strong claims to be 
considered of Druidical origin. I refer to the earthworks of 
Caubum and Whitehawk Hill. Others may have possessed 
similar pretensions, and more particularly Hollingbury, in 
the vallum, and within the inclosure of which portions of 
Druidical stones are still to be found ; and at the southern- 
most of its two most western portae, the remains of an up- 
right stone of this kind still stands, projecting a httle above 
the sod, precisely in the position of the two stones at the 
entrance of the passage of the vallum at Stonehenge. The 
greater part of them are circular — a circle being the ancient 
hierogl)^hic for the Deity. The discovery by Dr. Mantell of 
several ancient British remains on the hill, where the fort is 
situated, may also be adduced as indicating its origin. A 
similar remark may be made as to the Trundle, within the 
inclosure of which I can personally testify that fragments of 
ancient British pottery have been exposed to view, wherever 
the turf is removed from the surface. 

Mount Caubum, however, appears to me to possess aU the 
requisites of places of Druidical worship. It is constructed 
with a double vallum, corresponding with the double row of 
stones at Stonehenge; and the mound of earth thrown up 
within the ramparts corresponds precisely with the Gorseddau, 
or sacred hillock, from which the Druids of the higher order 



184 MILITARY EARTHWORKS. 

were accustomed to pronounce their decrees, and to deliver 
their orations to the people. The name, too, of Caubum is 
Druidical, being a corruption of Cambrauh, which, as the 
Rev. Mr. Vernon Harcourt observes, is still the name of a 
hill in Caernarvonshire, and Cambrea the designation of a 
hill in Cornwall, on both of which are situated undoubted 
Druidical remains. If this earthwork had been constructed 
for military purposes only, why should another earthwork 
have been formed for a simUar purpose close to it ? 

The earthwork of Whitehawk Hill has now been, in a 
great measure, levelled ; or else, previous to the formation of 
the Brighton racecourse, this, with its triple agger, inclosed 
a hillock of a similar kind. The name, too, like that of 
Caubum, bespeaks its Druidical appropriation ; it being pro- 
bably derived from " wied ac," a holy oak ; and the name 
Brighthelmstone being supposed by some to be derived from 
the contiguity of a town to a sacred hiU. 

While I am upon the subject of the Druidical names of 
earthworks, I will mention, that HolKngbury is supposed to 
take its name from " holi buri," a sacred mount. But this 
earthwork is without the hillock, unless a small moimd, 
having the appearance of an ancient British barrow, and 
standing witlun the entrenchments, can be considered as 
such. 



■PPHT 



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1^ 



ON THE 

CLUNIAC PRIORY OF ST. PANCRAS, AT LEWES, 
ITS PRIORS AND MONKS. 

BY W. H. BLAAUW, ESQ. 



** La gente che per 1i sepolcri giace, 
Potrebbesi veder ? gia son levati 
Tutti i coperchi, e nessun guardia face.'' 

Dante, Inf. x, 7. 



The accompanying ground plan of the site of Lewes Priory, 
due to the care and accuracy of Mr. John Parsons, at the 
time of the railway excavations in 1845-6, will interest the 
members of the Society, as recording the position of the 
graves found, and the traces of buildings before unknown, 
and now effaced, which are generally supposed to denote the 
chapter house and the church.^ 

When the London workmen were pulling down the church 
in 1538, the commissioner Portinari,^ put its dimensions, in 
a rough way, on record, as a guide to estimate the value of its 
stone and lead, not at all from any love or comprehension of its 
architecture, and accordingly his account is not very intelUgible. 

" A vaute on the ryghte syde of the hyghe altar, that was 
borne up with fower great piUars, having about it 5 (pillars, 

* For a detailed report of the discoveries made, see Mr. M. A. Lower's papers in the 
Journal of Archaeol.. Assoc., vol. i, p. 346 ; and vol. ii, p. 104. See also niustrated 
London News, Nov. 1845. % 

2 On the origmal MS. signed " John Portinari" (Cott. MS. Cleop., E. iv) is a note by a 
later hand, ** this is Richard Moryson's hand, as appeareth by a letter in another book,'' 
and Mr. Wright adopts this in his * Suppression of the Monasteries ;' there are indeed, 
in Cotton MSS., Nero B. vi, and Cleop. E. vi, several letters in Latin, English, and Italian,, 
written by R. Moryson to Lord Crumwell, as his " most honoured patron, and most boun- 
tiful Maecenas," dated from Venice and Padua, in some of which there is a resemblance 
to the scrawling writing of Portinari's letter, while others are in a small clear hand ; but 
it is not at all improbable that the writer was a descendant of that Portinari, whom 
Philip de Commines mentions as one oi the wealthiest fctctors of the Medici in Flanders 
and England in the 15th century. " Un autre ay vu nomm€ et appele Thomas Portunary,. 
estre pleige entrele dit roy Edouard (IV) et leDuc Charles de Bourgogne, pour dnquante 
mille ecus, et un autre fois en un lieu pour quatre vingt mille." I am indebted to Col. 
Davies for pointing out this notice. 



186 CLUNIAC PRIOET, 

erated in m.) chappelles," may have been a semicircular 
vault closing the east end of the choir, as seen on the plan, 
if we suppose Portinari looking to the north. Conceiving the 
entire church to have been cruciform, and certainly to have 
had aisles, we must distribute the twenty-four pillars " stand- 
ing equally from the walles," he speaks of (10 feet dia- 
meter, and 18 feet high) some in the choir, some in the 
transepts, and the remainder in the nave. " The churche is 
in lengthe cl fote. The heygthe Ixiii fote.'* Probably the 
"churche" here means the nave only, as being 150 feet; for 
the subordinate church of Castle Acre was 90 feet nave, and 
136 feet choir (including Lady Chapel) = 226 feet in all ; and 
Thetford, another Cluniac priory of similar date, was 121 feet 
nave, and 127 feet choir— 248 feet in all. Probably this had 
been rebuilt in the style of the 13th century, as we know the 
two western towers were, to the support of which we may 
assign four larger pillars, 14 feet diameter. The other 
"fower thicke and grosse pillars" bare up the central bell 
tower, which seems to have been 93 feet lugh inside, " with 
an highe rouf, vautey {ercaed in m)y and 105 -outside. 

The choir and its apsidal terminations may have retained 
much of the Norman style of its original construction. The 
space on the south of the choir may have been a side chapel 
of St. Pancras, corresponding to that of the Holy Cross, 
which we know was on the north side. These two side 
chapels with apsidal terminations exactly correspond in form 
and situation with those of the Cluniac churches of Castle 
Acre and of Thetford, in Norfolk, where there was also ori- 
ginally an apsidal east end.^ The apartment opening into the 
south transept was paved with encaustic tiles, and had its 
walls painted ; the occurrence within it of a well, 22 feet deep, 
may perhaps indicate its use as a baptistry or a vestry. The 
chapter house, though its form cannot be well determined (that 
of Thetford was rectangular, 37 feet by 27 feet 8 inches), seems 
sufficiently proved by the position of the numerous graves 
symmetrically arranged there, including those of the founders. 

The leaden bull of Pope Clement VI (1342-52), found 
under a skull, may mark the spot (8 on the Plan) where John, 
the last and least worthy of the Earls de Warrenne lay, 

' For an interesting account of recent excavations there, by H. Harrod, Esq., see 
vol. iii, p. 105, of Norfolk Archseol. Soc. 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 187 

whose excommunication by the archbishop may have needed 
the neutraUzing effects of a papal brief of absolution. 

A very few years before destruction was let loose upon the 
church, a stately herald, Benolte, who held the office of 
Clarenceux frona 1516 to 1534, drily noted down in his Visita- 
tion book the proud monuments which he saw there, raised over 
what were then fondly believed to be the resting-places for 
ever of the great and noble. His description is indeed ftdl of 
gross blunders as to Earl Hameline's pedigree and the three 
Earls Richard (for heralds and even kings-at-arms, may some- 
times be in the wrong) ; but, in spite of his errors, the 
testimony of the herald is worth having, as that of one of 
the latest calm eye-witnesses of the monuments in their per- 
fection, with no foreboding of the speedy approach of Portinari's 
" 3 carpenters, 2 smythes, 2 plummars, and one that kepith 
the fomace," and undisturbed by the faintest dream of a 
railway. 

" William, the firste Erie Waryne and Surrey, furste founder of the hpwse 
of Saynt pancrase, assituate within the towne of lewys, in the countye of 
Sussex, wiche Willyam and Gondrede his wyffe lieth buryede in the Chapytre 
of the same howse, wich Gondrede was dawghter unto WiUyamthe Conqueror: 
also in the same place adjoynyng unto his father lyeth buryede Wyllyam his 
sone, and hys wyflfe; item, in the same place lyes Willyam the fourthe Erie 
of Wafyne, and Mawld his wyffe, daughter to ' the Erie of Arundel. Item, 
in the same howse lyethe Hamelyne brother unto King Edwarde (Henry) the 
seconde and Erie of Waryne by marynge Isabell dawghter to Willyam the 
III*** Erie Waryne. Item more, in the same place lyes Eichard the' fyrst 
(second) Erie of that name Erie of ArundeU and Snrrye, next whom lyeth in 
another tombe Alionora the sister (daiigMer) of Henry Duke of Lancaster. 
Under a playne stone adjoynyng to the said thombes lyes John (drowned 1379) 
son to Eichard the second Erie of ArundeU and Sunye and Philippe his 
seconde wyffe, dowghter to Edmonde Erie of Marche (Fhilippa was second 
wife to the third Earl Richard) ; and next unto the sayd John lyes WyUym 
(died 1385) sone to Eichard Erie of ArundeU and of Smxey, second (third) of 
that name, and Elizabeth his wyffe, dowghter to Lord Wyl bowne (William 
Bohun) Erie of Northe Hampton."* 

We know, from Prior Auncell's book (/. 106), that there 
are grave omissions in the herald's list, even of important 
members of the founders' family ; the Countess Ahce, half- 
sister of Henry III, lay before the high altar, in a marble 
tomb, carved with a dragon ; her son William, so untimely 
killed in 1296, at a tournament, and his widow Joanna, also lay 

* The above extract from a MS. in the College of Arms, marked D 13, was kindly 
communicated by William Courthope, Esq., Rouge Croix. 



188 CLUNIAC PEIORT, 

before the high altar, in raised tombs ; and their son John, 
the last Earl, lay singly (solus) near the great altar ; the 
third Earl Richard and his first wife lying before the high 
altar on the south side; George Nevill, Lord Bergavenny, 
who died 1492, was buried by the side of the altar, where 
he had previously erected his own tomb, of which a small 
metaUic bull's head, his crest, was the only fragment found 
in 1845. 

Three anniversaries in honour of the founders and other 
benefactors, were kept at the priory, the third day in Lent, 
Maimday Thursday, and Pentecost, on which day doles were 
distributed to the poor. 

One pecuUarity in the construction of the waUs yet remain- 
ing of the conventual building, is worth notice, as not often 
occurring in other ancient bmldings, and as not sufficiently 
explained. Their middle thickness is perforated by hollow 
passages about six inches square, and smoothed on the inner 
surface, as if formed by a mould, running through the whole 
length, and apparently communicating with each other. They 
may have been merely intended to save materials in the con- 
struction, or to admit a draught of air to dry the massive 
walls ; but they may also have served for the ventilation of 
the apartments, or for the flow of warm air, or even for the 
conveyance of the voice fix>m one part to another of these 
extensive buildings. 

The large area of the walled inclosure (nearly 30 acres) 
afforded ample space, not only for the residence of numerous 
monks, but also for farm purposes ; and, in dry seasons, the 
site of a large cruciform pigeon-house may still be traced in 
the lower ground. Whether the monks, however, were nu- 
merous, is doubtful, for the prior had no authority to admit 
novices into the community ; and the visits of the Abbot of 
Climy, to whom the privilege was reserved, were uncertain and 
imfrequent. The abuses arising from this are strongly pointed 
out in a petition presented to the Parliament at Winchester, 
in 1330, in which it is stated, that in the Cluniac convents in 
England there was not a third of the proper number of 
monks provided for by the founders, and that the revenues 
were wrongfully shared among the smaller number; that 
there were not above twenty monks regularly professed, 
while some had belonged to the order for forty years with- 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 189 

out profession. Such a state of things would have realized 
Dante's sarcasm on the scarcity of good monks, that " a httle 
cloth would furnish them all with hoods.'' 

" Le pecore ........ son si poche 

Che le cappe fornisce poco panno." Par* xi. 132. 

The petition observes that Parhament had ordained, apparently 
without eflfect, " that the Prior of Lewes should be an abbot to 
make professed monks within their own domains," without the 
necessity of their going abroad, to their disgrace and loss. 

" Ce fiit des ordonances ordine en parlement pur le ordre de Cluny, ke ky 
fiit priur de Lewes dust etre un abbe pur fere les moynes profes en lur terre 
deymeine, et oyr et determiner les pleynts en lur terre, ke ons ne usent mester 
le passer la mere at estre huny e perdu." (Eeyneri App., p. 147, Dugd. Mon. v, 
preface.) 

One year was the usual time of probation for novices in 
other orders, when they were admitted to profess, on present- 
ing the following petition : 

" Sir, — I have been here now this twelve months near hand, and loved be God, 
me likes right weU both the order and the company, whereupon I beseech you 
and all the company of heaven, that ye will receive me into my profession at 
my twelvemonth day, according to my petycion, which I made when I was first 
received here amongst you." (Monast. 1, xxvi.) 

We may well imagine how anxiously the Cluniac novices 
desired to be reheved from their p'robktionary state, when we 
know the strict disciphne enforced upon them. An authentic 
account of the customs observed in the latter half of the 11th 
century at Cluny, is given by Udalric, a monk there, to 
William, the Abbot of Spires. (Spicileg. Achery, 1, 640.) 
Many of the regulations are excellent. Each monk was to 
take his turn in the kitchen, cooking, however, only the beans 
and herbs permitted, and to keep the pots and pans clean 
and bright ; to grease {jingere calceos) his own shoes at a fixed 
hour, to make his own bed ; to comb his hair and wash his 
hands and face in the cloisters, with the use of three towels 
there placed ; where also, in divided troughs, he was to wash 
his own clothes. He was always to pull his frock up in 
front, so that his feet might be well seen ; and, when stand- 
ing in the presence of the abbot, his feet were to be kept 
steadily even, and not alternately spread out {habeat pedes 
aquaJiter cowpositos, nunquam ah invicem inter standum 



190 CLUNIAC PRIOEY, 

divaricatos), with his head bent down (demisso), being liable 
to correction if the head was ever seen erect. He was, more- 
over, never to call anything his own, except his father and 
mother, to whom alone he was to apply the word my, using 
the pronoun our to everything else. 

In clothing, also, while other Orders gave their brethren a 
regular allowance of two suits a year, there was no rule 
among the Climiacs, except to replace garments when they 
were worn out (nisi cum/uerint inveterata alia triiuantur), 

A novice, however, was subjected additionally to the gall- 
ing restriction of " perpetual silence in the church, the dor- 
mitory, the refectory, and the kitchen ;" and for one word 
spoken, even reciting an Antiphone or Responsorium from 
their service, unless the book was actually before him, he was 
not easily forgiven {non facile veniam absque jtidido meretur). 

Dante has graphically set before us the solemn gait of the 
silent monks of his day : 

" Tadti Bdi e sum oompigiiia 
N'andavam run dioanii e Valtro dopo, 
Come i frati minor Tumo per m." /af. xsdii, 1. 

A system of signs became a necessary substitute for the 
loss of the distinctive privilege of man ; and it must have 
cost the novice some time and trouble of memory to learn the 
full code of manual signals, by which alone he could explain 
his meaning or obtain his food. Some specimens of the 
authorized gestures may be introduced ; and when the fingers 
of a company of novices were in ftdl play using them, the ap- 
pearance must have been more that of a modem school for deaf 
and dumb, or of the ward of a lunatic asylum, than of a reli- 
gious establishment. These signs, however, were thought so 
perfect, that John, a monk, in his life of S. Odo, enthusiasti- 
cally praises them, as suflficient to signify all things necessary, 
if the use of the tongue were lost. (Martene de Vit. Monach., 
iv, 288.) 

'* For bread, make a circle with the two thumbs and forefingers, because 
bread is usually round — ^for rye bread, commonly called a tart (panis sigali 
vulgo turta), the same sign as for bread, and add a cross on the palm, because 
that sort is usually cut into 4 — ^for the tartlet (tortula) given out extra on 5 
feasts, place two fingers a little apart obliquely on the two similar fingers of 
the other hand — ^for beans, place the first joint of the thumb erect on the end of 
the next finger — ^for eggs, imitate a continued pecking the shell with one finger 
on another — for fish, imitate the motion of a fish's tail in water — ^for eel, shut 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 191 

up both hands — ^for lamprey, imitate the side holes in its head by fingers on 
your cheek — ^for sahnon or sturgeon, add to the sign for fish the thumb of 
your closed hand to the chin, by which pride is signified, because such are 
especially proud and rich — ^for cheese, join both hands obliquely, as if pressing 
cheese — ^for honey, put your tongue out a little way, and pretend to lick your 
fingers (paulisper linguam fac apparere, et digitos apphca quasi lambere velis) — 
for milk, press the little finger on the lips, because an infant so sucks (ita sugit 
infans)— for cherries, put the finger under the eye — for raw onions, press the 
finger on the mouth a little open, on account of that sort of smeU — for water, 
join all the fingers together, and move them obliquely — for wine, bend the 
finger and put it to the lips — ^for mustard (sinapis), put the thumb on the first 
joint of the little finger — ^for vinegar, rub the throat (guttur), because its sharp- 
ness is there felt — for a plate, spread out the hand — ^for a cup (scyphus) of 
the daily allowance, bend the hand into a hoUow with fingers rather bent — for 
a glass, besides the last sign, put two fingers round the eyes, to signify the 
brightness of glass — for shirts (stamineae) hold the sleeve with the three 
smallest fingers — ^for breeches (femoralia), draw the hand up from the thigh, as 
if putting them on — for shoes, turn one finger round another, like one who 
binds his shoes with a strap — for thread, a similar sign, adding one, as if you 
wished to put the thread tliough the eye of a needle — for a comb, pass three 
fingers through the hair, like one combing — ^for the prior, pretend to hold a 
bell with two fingers, and to ring it — ^for a monk, hold the head of the cowl 
(capellum cucuUae) — for an ass-£iver, place the hand near the ear, and move 
it as an ass does its ear — for sign of not knowing (nesciendi), wipe the lips with 
the finger upright — ^for lying (mentiendi), draw the finger withm the lips — for 
a book, move the hand as if turning over a leaf;" there was added to this 
general sign others to describe the particular book, one for each species of 
service-book, such as " for the psalter, place the tips of the fingers with the 
hand hollow upon the head, in the likeness of David's crown." The discou- 
ragement of any classical learning is curiously illustrated by the sign given 
" for a secular book, which any Pagan may have written, scratch the ear with 
a finger, as a dog usually does with its foot when at play, because infidels are 
not undeservedly compared to such an animal.'* 

The curious reader will observe in these signs traces of 
obsolete nianners and thoughts, which are not without in- 
terest; but such elaborate contrivances to avoid the sin of 
using the divine gift of speech, if continued during several 
years, owing to the non-arrival of the abbot, however adapted 
to make the novices adepts in palmistry, may account readily 
for the complaints to Parliament of the Prior of Lewes having 
no authority to admit them into brotherhood. 

To compensate for the privation of their tongue, the Abbot 
Peter, in the 12th century, reconunended the novices to keep 
their hands in activity, and manufacture combs, and, " with 
well instructed foot to turn needle cases, hollow out wine 
vessels {jmticicB) \' and if near any marshy place, of which 



192 CLUNIAC PRIORY, 

there was no lack near Lewes, to weave the reeds into 
baskets or "mats, on which they might sleep, and which 
they might bedew with daily tears, and wear out with fre- 
quent kneeling befQre God." (Bib. Clun. in Maitland's Dark 
Ages, p. 452.) 

The household of the prior was arranged on a full scale, 
and we find among the frequent witnesses to the charters of 
the community a succession of sub-priors, seneschals, cham- 
berlains, mareshals, porters, butlers {dapiferi)^ and cooks. 
The most formidable officer, however, in the convent must 
have been the circuitor, or circa, as he was called. The death 
of one of these in 1297 is recorded as an important event in 
the Lewes chronicle. The friar appointed to this duty was 
expressly enjoined to roam about the monastery "in so 
religious and stately a manner, as to inspire terror in the 
beholders," taking note in profound silence of any miscon- 
duct. Laziness, laughter, and whispering were all to be 
watched and reported ; and for this purpose he was " diligently 
to explore what the monks were about, by appljring his ear 
{aure appoaita) to each cell in his rounds — going round the 
choir with a lanthom during the third or fourth lesson of the 
Night Service, and if he found any brother dozing, he was to 
leave the lanthom shining fiill upon him, and retire, on which 
the startled sleeper was to beg pardon on his knees, and, 
taking up the lanthom, to continue himself the same search, 
till he could hand it over to some other drowsy culprit." 
(Rejmer, Antiq. Benedict.) 

This ancient practice of hunting the sleeper must have 
given rise to some droll scenes in the midst of the long 
church services, and it would be a curious experiment to re- 
vive it in the broad dayUght of the nineteenth century. 

Of the Priors themselves, men eminent in their day, fre- 
quently smnmoned to Parliament, and almost as important, 
by the extent of their possessions and their influence on 
society, as the Earls in the castle towering above their con- 
vent, it is now difficult to trace the very names or periods. A 
few, indeed, are authentically recorded in the chronicle pub- 
Ushed in the Society's 2d vol. ; and it is remarkable that several 
verbatim extracts from that MS. {eos fragmento nobiliy. as he 
terms it) appear in Reyner's book (Antiq. Bened. folio, Douay, 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 193 

1626, pp. 62, 120), which must have been taken before its 
injury by fire. 

There being some errors in the Usts of priors given by 
Browne Willis, ii, 237 ; Horsfield's 'Lewes,' ii, 238 ; and the 
new edition of the ' Monasticon ;' advantage may be taken of 
the dated documents in the chartulary, and the chronicle, to 
authenticate some additional dates in compiling a fresh hst, 
though still incomplete, and to introduce occasionally such 
other particulars as may belong to Sussex topography or 
biography. It is curious to observe how very meagre and 
uncertain the list is with respect to the later priors, after the 
dates of the chronicle and chartulary, of whom we should ex- 
pect the fuller history. The reference, unless otherwise spe- 
cified, will be to the pages of the chartulary MS. Vespas. 
F. XV. 

The difficulty of procuring monks at the foundation of 
Lewes Priory has been adverted to on a former occasion ; but 
it is worth while more fully to prove it by the noble and con- 
scientious answer returned by Hugh, the abbot of Cluny, 
when requested by William the Conqueror to send six monks 
over to England, for each of whom he offered to pay £100 
a-year. 

" Be pleased, dearest lord (wrote the abbot in reply to this kingly offer), 
not to require from me what I cannot do without my own perdition, for I am 
not willing to barter away my soul at any price, which indeed I shoidd sell, if 
I should send you one of the brethren committed to my charge, to where I 
might lose him ; and I would more readily give money to procure monks, of 
whom I am much in want for divers places under my government, rather than 
accept it for their sale. Fpr of what chapter would they stand in awe in those 
parts where they would see no monastery of our order ? At whose door could 
they knock, or in what manner could they be constrained ? Command me 
therefore some other thing, and suffer this patiently, if what you have asked 
cannot be done consistent with the salvation of your friend." (Reyner, Antiq. 
Bened. 2, 59.) 

After this refusal, William de Warenne may have well re- 
joiced, when he subsequently overcame the abbot's scruples, 
and obtained so excellent a man as Lanzo for his new priory. 
WiUiam of Malmesbury, who was almost a contemporary, 
speaks of him as having " so ennobled Lewes by his worth 
with the grace of cloistered reverence, that it may be said to 
be the peculiar domicile of goodness." Again : " The lofty 
advancement (sublimitas) of the monastery attests the efficacy 

III. 13 



194 CLUNIAC PRIORY, 

of the man ; so that none could exceed it in the devotion of 
the monks, in affability towards guests, and in charity to all." 
(De Gest. Pontif. iii, 147.) The chronicler, when narrating his 
death, after a priorate of nearly thirty years, describes scenes 
passing within the priory church, its vestry, and the chapter- 
house, which it may be interesting to add. The striking 
instance of the importance attached to the rule of silence wiU 
be remarked. While in the vestry preparing for mass on 
Holy Thursday, he was taken so suddenly ill, while completing 
his priestly attire with the chasuble, that he left it as it fell 
from him, not folded up, and after retiring from the chapel 
(oratorio) he was unable to sleep for two days. When pressed 
by his friends to speak to them at night, he refused, explain- 
ing that since he first took the monastic vow, he had never 
spoken a word after the completorium (the last service per- 
formed, after which the gates were locked, and the keys 
delivered to the prior), until the primes of the next day. On 
the Saturday, after kissing all the brethren, which, in his 
zealous love, he would do standing, in spite of his feebleness, 
" he was at daybreak led into the chapter-house, and there 
from his seat imparted his paternal benediction and absolution 
to all the brethren, begging their prayers in return, and teach- 
ing them what to do if he should die.*' His illness allowed 
him more rest after this until the Monday, when, on recog- 
nising symptoms of imminent death, he went, with his hands 
washed and his hair combed, as is carefully noted, to hear 
mass, and, after the sacrament, returned to his bed. After 
again blessing every individual of the convent, he clasped a 
cross, and, "with his head and body bent down in reverence, 
was carried by his monks into the choir (presbyterium) before 
the altar of St. Pancras ; and there, after a little while, with a 
glowing countenance, about to be exempt for ever from all 
evil, he migrated pure to Christ." (Malmsb. p. 172.) 

1077-1107. — ^Lanzo, a man of distinguished piety and ability, was 
the first prior vouchsafed to Lewes by the abbot of Cluny. 

1107-1123. — Hugh, a native of France, after being prior of Lewes 
for some years, was selected by Henry I as the first abbot for his new monastery 
at Eeading, in 1123, and afterwards, by the same patronage, became archbishop 
of Eouen, in 1130. He attended that king's death-bed, and died himself Nov. 
10, 1164. (V. Order. Vit. 901. W. Malmsb.) 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 195 

1123-1130. — Aucherius, Ausgeras, like his predecessor, passed 
from tlie prioiy of Lewes to the abbey of Reading, in 1130. He founded there 
a hospital for lepers, and died Jan. 27, 1135. (Mor. Wigom.) 

1139. — Amald, died in 1139. The only authority for his being prior 
is an entry in the chronicle: "1139. — Amald Prior ^ed on the nones of 
November ;" but he may as probably have belonged to Montacute, or some 
other Cluniac house. 

1154-1163. — ^William was party to a deed in London in 1154, . 
witnessed by Lawrence, abbot of Westminster (f. 140), and was witness to a 
deed of Reginald de Warenne, together with the chaplain of William de Blois, 
the king's son, who died in 1160 (f. 112). He is also probably the Prior 
William mentioned in a deed witnessed by Earl Hamelin and Countess 
Isabella (f. 310) ; and in a deed (f. 171) of Jocelin, bishop of Salisbury (a.d. 
1152-84). He was probably also the "William, prior of Lewes," who wit- 
nessed a grant of Godfrey de Lisewis to Normanesberch (a ceU to Castle Acre). 
Among the other witnesses were Philip de Mortimer (then a Lewes monk, after- 
wards prior of Castle Acre); Geffry, chamberlain; Seman, cook; and Alexander, 
the prior's notary. (Monast. t. 2.) This deed, being approved by John, 
bishop of Norwich, and subsequently confirmed by Archbishop Hubert, was 
probably of the date between 1175 and 1180. 

1180. — Osbert. v. Willis' Hsts. 

1186-99. — Hugh. According to the Waverley Annals, p. 166, this 
prior, being a man of grea;t piety and honesty of Hfe, was made prior of Cluny 
in 1199. 

1207-8. — ^Vinbert was party to a deed (9° K. John) with Eustace, 
bishop of Ely (f. 284 and 307). 

The William here occurring in the Monasticon was identical with the William 
above. 

1219. — Stephen was elected, after a struggle with Cluny, for the pre- 
sentation ; the Earl de Warenne ultimately selecting him from two names 
presented by that abbey (Burrell MSS.) ; and this form continued the rule ever 
afterwards. 

1226-1234. — Hugh was party to a deed dated in the 10th year of 
Pope Honorius III, 1226 (f. 311); also to one signed in presence of Bishop 
Ealph de NeviU, chanceUor, 14° Hen. Ill, 1230 (f. 299) ; also to a deed 
relating to an old wall in Atheling-street, London, witnessed by Andrew 
Bokerel, lord mayor from 1232 to 1237 (f. 172); also in one dated 1234 
(18- Henry III). 

Henry de Pleg, prior of Farlegh, is inserted here in the Monasticon erro- 
neously as Prior of Lewes. 

1236-1244. — ^Albert died in 1244. On Hugh Sanzaver presenting 
his son William to the vacant benefice of Bignor, the Prior Albert disputed his 
right, and presented Peter de Dene, who, after an appeal to the Bishops 
Court, was admitted according to a deed signed at Hardham, Feb. 24, 1236, 



196 CLUNIAC PRIORY, 

witnessed by Alexander de Anindell, the seneschall of the prior ; Thomas, the 
gatekeeper; and Robert, the butler (f. 154). On April 6, 1239. a dispute 
with Nicholas, vicar of Peccham, about the manor of Peccham, was decided 
in favour of the priory, by William, prior of Battle, acting as delegate of 
Otho, the legate. But by a subsequent deed, June, 1239, an arrangement 
was made, by which the vicar was to receive the tithes, on paying the priory a 
rent of 16«. 8^. This is witnessed by Reginald de Winton, then archdeacon 
of Lewes ; Thomas, the rector of St. Mary de Westout ; Master Maurice, of 
Bisshopestone, &c. (f. 112.) Prior Albert is party to a deed, June 24, 1239 
(f. 220); one on Oct. 14, 1242 (f. 266); one at Michaehnas, 1243 (f. 295) ; 
two deeds on Nov. 23, 1243, witnessed by William, the prior of Castle 
Acre, and Alexander de Arundell, the parson (persona) of Piddingho (f. 264). 
There are also deeds of Prior Albert at f. 53, witnessed by Alfred, the parch- 
ment-maker, and Robert de Watergate ; also a deed (f. 236) about the church 
of " Letune," and another (f. 249). 

1244-7. — Guy chard de la Osaye, Guygardus, was admitted as 
prior May 7, 1244, and died Dec. 7, 1248. He was party to a deed (f. 230) 
in September, 1246 ; to another in 1246 (f. 187). A deed of Peter de Hautbois, 
called also de Alto Bosco, confirmed to this prior the grant of some land at 
' Herst, and the dower of Helewise, relict of William de Hautbois, at her 
death (f. 114). " By special grace" he confirmed a lease of fifteen years, from 
1247, granted by "Richard Godebert, native of the prior of Lewes," who 
was otherwise, from his servile condition, unable to give any security (f. 225). 

1248-1255. — ^William RussinoU, Russelun, succeeded in 1248, 
and came to Lewes in 1249. He was party to a deed in June, 1252 (f. 276). 
A deed of John la Ware and his wife Olympias, records having publicly received 
from this prior " in the County Court certain charters and deeds which had 
been deposited in the priory by Hugh de ffokinton, and were read out before 
delivery, with the assent of the said county" (f. 80). He crossed the sea, 
journeying towards the Roman court, and returned March 2, 1255, being 
party to a lease at Kingston in that year ; but he again left England, and did 
not return, having probably obtained some abbacy on the continent. 

Roger Willermes is inserted in some lists as prior, with the date of 
1251, partly on the authority of an entry in the chronicle : "1251. — ^Prior 
Roger came on the morrow of St. Mary Magdalen, and the same year Hugh, 
abbot of Cluny, was at Montacute." This occurs between the two entries of 
1248 and 1255, which speak of William Russinoll as prior of Lewes, and 
may therefore more probably apply to Montacute. In the Rolls of Parlia- 
ment of 6*» Edw. I, n° 9 (1278), as printed from the MS. transcript (in Sir 
M. Hale's MSS. No. 5, in Lincoln's Inn) of the original roll, now no longer 
extant, there is a petition from a prior of Lewes, called Perez (Peter), who 
complains that the convent had leased the tithes of Weston and Brinkley 
(Co. Cambridge) to Richard de Merton, to the said Peter's great prejudice 
and grievance, the said tithes having been, twenty-five years previously 
("passe ja yint et v anz"— 1253 ?), granted to the " Conte de Savoye," by 
Roger WilHermes, formerly (jades) prior of Lewes. It will be observed, that 
in 1253 William Russinoll was certainly prior, and in 1278 John de Thyenges. 
The only Prior Peter near the date given was Peter de Yilliaco, from May to 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 197 

Nov. 1275. There are, therefore, certainly errors either of dates or names in 
the above account, which, from the only authority being the very incorrect 
transcript made for Sir M. Hale, cannot now be explained. 

1257-1268. — ^WiUiam de Foville, ffovyle, came to Lewes in 

1257 as prior, after having previously been prior of the Cluniacs at North- 
ampton, and he died Sept. 28, 1268. He calls himself " William, the third 
of that name, prior of St. Pancras," in a deed giving permission to a tenant 
to erect a water-mill (f. 217), which excludes from the list the supposed 
William after Vinbertus. He received a quitclaim as to land in Herst from 
Robert de Perepont, giving fifteen silver marcs in return, witnessed by Thomas 
de Poninges, John la Warre, &c. (fol. 114) ; he made an exchange of a small 
portion of land with Roger, prior of Michelham (f. 120); accepted a grant 
from Hugh de Busty, witnessed by Thomas de Poning, Robert Perpoint, 
William de Wystelmestune, Peter de Hangeltune, &c. (f. 128). In 1258 he 
was party to a deed signed in London (f. 178), and to an agreement with 
Warin le Bat, of Grensted (ff. 324, 49). In 1261 he consented to an arbitra- 
tion between himself and the abbot of St. Radegund, near Dover, to be de- 
cided "at South Mailing, on the Friday after the Sunday when 'Quasi in gemitu* 
is sung.'* In 1263, on St. Dunstan's day, he received a quitclaim from Maurice 
de Ewakene (f. 69), and a grant in Hodlegh from Robert de Glindlee and 
his wife Margaret, witnessed by William and Henry de Bodiham, Simon de 
Hellingelegh, &c. (f. 70), and a grant of " La Heghlond" in Westham (f. 71) ; 
he is named in deeds at ff. 222, 252, 207. His bequests to the priory have 
been previously noticed. 

1268-1274. — ^Milo de Colmnbers arrived at Lewes Jan. 30, 1269^ 
having been elected the previous year. He went over to Clugny in 1270, and 
quitted Lewes in 1274, on becoming abbot of Vezelay; he died in 1281. 
This prior was party to a deed, March 6, 1268 (f. 252) ; to another 
on Oct. 19, 1269, witnessed by William, the prior of Castle Acre (f. 263); 
to another in the chapter at Lewes, Oct. 27, 1270 (ff. 275-284), so that he 
must have returned from Clugny by that date ; to others at Lewes on the 
morrow of the Epiphany, and on St. Vincent's day (f. 212) and at Michaelmas 
in 1271 (f. 233), in which last, John, rector of DitchUng, appears as a 
witness ; again at Lewes in 1272 in August (f. 140), and in November (f. 211), 
in July, 1273 (f. 323), and in a lease of land at Grensted (f. 47). Roger de 
Bromham confirmed to MjIo " the tenement in Heathfield parish, lying on the 
north side of the king's highway, leading from Burgherssh to Horeappeltre " 
(f. 82). 

1275. — ^Peter de Villiaco, Niwaco, prior of Souvigny, in France, 
was sent by Cluny as prior of Lewes, where he arrived May 1, 1275, and con- 
curred with his convent in appointing proctors to correct the taxation of the 
vicarage of Halifax, on Ascension day, 1275. (Monast. Angl. e Regist. Arch. 
Ebor. P. II. f. 3.) He resigned, however, this dignity on November 5, in 
the same year, and became prior of St. Martin des Champs, at Paris, November 11. 
It was perhaps by his bequest, as he was then a resident at Paris, that the 
well known Hotel de Cluny there was repaired, though it is described only as 
that of "a certain prior of St. Pancras, deceased," by Reyner. (Antiq. 
Benedict, p. 165.) 



19S CLUNIAC PRIORY, 

1275-12 84 . — John deThyenges, Tenges, Tirenges, D wy anges, 

prior of (TBvfes, came to Lewes May 29, 1276, began a journey to Rome in 
Alay 12 SO, returning between £aster and Pentecost in 1282, crossed over to 
attend the chapter general of his Order, Feb. 2, 1284, and did not return, as 
he became prior of St. Mary de la Woute, in Auvergne. 

There is a deed of his (f. 23S), dated Christmas eve, 1276 ; one dated at 
Southwark, March 25, and another dated at Reygate, October, 1278 (f. 195). 
A brief from Vo\^ Martin IV, dated at Viterbo, in 1282, called upon the 
abbot of Westminster to prevent any attempt to the prejudice of this Prior John, 
during his absence at the papal court, " for certain business of his own and of 
the priory." (Rymer.) 

Michel de Sevenoke sold to this prior, " at Lewes, on Saturday, the eve of 
St. Nicolas, 12S2, Kep^nald Onyot, formerly my native of Brighthehnstone, 
n-ith all his following (sequela), and his chattels, for 40«." (f. 120). This prior 
paid £12 sterKng to Robert de Perepund, knight, in return for a release from 
homage for some land at Ilerst, witnessed by Simon, Robert, and John 
Perepund, William Dani, &c. (f. 114); and he appears in other undated 
deeds (ff. 234, 43). 

1284-1297. — John de Avignon, Avynun, Avynn, had been 
prior of Wenlock, and came to Lewes August 15, 1285 ; he died March 28, 
1297. He was party to a deed on the Quintaine of St. John, 1285 (f. 188) ; 
to another in 1286 (f. 237). Saer de Droseto gave the prior a quitclaim in 
1287-8, witnessed by Sir Roger de Lewkenore, W^illiam de Echingbam, 
William Manse, and W^illiam Goldingham, knights. See. (f. 63). In 1288 
John de Okie gave him a quitclaim of some land in Bolney before the justices 
itinerant at Chichester (f. 125). He signed a deed in the chapter at Lewes 
on the feast of St. Benedict Abbot at the end of 1289 (f. 192). On Oct. 24, 
1290, he presented Peter de Montellier as prior of Prittlewell (Pat. 18" Edw. I). 
On August 1, 1291, he made a covenant with John atte hale, of Wydyhame, 
acting on behalf of John de Corsle, a minor (f. 67). A deed signed at Rising, 
in Norfolk, on the Monday after Palm Sunday, 1292 (f. 269), confirmed to 
this prior the rights of franc-pledge, &c., in Hecham, on paying rent of half a 
marc to John de Montalt, and these rights appear again confirmed in Rot. 
Pat. 35** Edw. I, p. 1. On July 8, 1292, a claim of a pension of 46«. was 
determined at Winchester, in favour of the prioiy, after a law suit against 
William of York, rector of Gatton. Another deed of his is dated on the 
morrow of St. Nicholas, 1296 (f. 308). 

1298-1301. — John de Novo Castro, Newcastle, probably the 
first prior of English birth, came to Lewes May 24, 1298, and died January 
10, 1301. 

1301-1305. — Stephen de Sancto Romano, de Rouen, came 
to Lewes, as prior, on the feast of St. Pancras, May 12, 1302. He was a 
party to a deed of exchange relative to some lands at Hecham, in Norfolk, 
dated there on the Wednesday after Easter, 1303 (f. 222, 229); and there 
are also bonds signed by him and the convent in chapter, on May 2, and June 
22, 1303, acknowledging loans of money advanced in reHef of the difficulties 
of the priory (f. 140). Stephen also occurs in a patent, dated April 7, 1305 
(Pat. 33* Edw. I, p. 1, m. 7), enabling him, on his setting out for the Roman 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 199 

court, to appoint his fellow monk, Guichard de Caro Loco, and Thomas de 
Holm, to act for him during his absence for two years. This last reference 
has been strangely misapplied in the * Monasticon' to a Stephen in 1360, by 
an obvious error. (The John here introduced by the ' Monasticon' appears to 
be identical with John who succeeded in 1309.) 

1309. — ^Alberisus, Alberic. See WiUis' lists. 

1309-1325. — John de Monte Martino. a letter from John, 
prior of Farlegh, to this prior, excusing himself for not being at Lewes on St. 
Pancras day, on account of illness, is dated May 3, 1313 (f. 166), An agree- 
ment between him and John de ThornhiU, Kt., is dated at Lewes in Feb. 1315 
(f. 303). He is stated to have set ojff for parts over sea June 2, 1315 (Pat. 8" 
Edw. II,inHarl.MS., 6958, p. 217). A lease of the manor of Sutton, graated 
by him to John de Sutton, for 100 marcs (JB66. Qs. Sd.), is dated in the chapter 
of Lewes, Sept. 11, 1319 (f. 98). A donation in London to the prior is 
dated in Southwark, May 3, 1313, witnessed by David, steward of Earl de 
Warenne (f. 173). Documents of this prior, addressed to John de Eeskamp, 
prior of Earlegh, are dated April 26, 1321 ; on the feast of St. Gregory, 
1322 ; and from Horsted, August 3, 1323 (f. 166). An agreement between 
the prior and Eobert Erankleyn, rector of Edburghton, concerning " the land 
of William under-the-hiU, at ffolkuig in la claye between the road under 
fFoUdng and la leet towards the hill," is dated at Lewes, Aug. 23, 1324 
(f. 154). It was during this Prior John's time that the last Earl de Warenne 
was excommunicated ; and the Earl in 1315-16 surrendered all his estates, 
with the patronage of Lewes, to the king, receiving a regrant of them soon after- 
wards. Probably this circumstance may have had some influence in encouraging 
the Pope to appoint a prior to Lewes, as he did after Prior John's death. 

1325. — ^Adam de Winchester. John de Coventry. After 
the death of Prior John de Mont Martin, probably in 1325, the Pope assumed 
the privilege of nominating a prior for his successor, without any respect to the 
rights of the lay patron ; and accordingly, in 1325, Adam, a monk of St. Swithin 
at Winchester, was intruded by papal authority into the dignity, although Peter 
de Joceaux was selected by the Earl de Warenne from the two names duly 
presented to him by the abbot of Climy. Of these two rival priors Adam 
seems to have first gained complete possession ; and there is extant a patent 
of Edward II, Westminster, July 20, 1325 (ir E. 2, p. 1, m. 32, Tower 
MS.) pardoning, "of his special grace, Adam, prior of Lewes, and the con- 
vent for the transgression of John, the late prior," in acquiring the advowson 
of Melton Mowbray, in mortmain, without royal consent ; and on July 6, 
1325, Adam, as prior, and the convent in chapter granted the advowsons of 
Dewsbury and Wakefield (co. York) to Hugh de Despenser, which grant was 
confirmed by a deed, April 27, 1344 (MS. Pat. 18° Edw. III). By a deed 
dated at Lewes, on Saturday, the feast of St. Ambrose, 1327, Prior Adam de 
Winchester and the convent leased " the tithes of le Bovylonds, in Wogham 
(in campis Wogham), which belonged to the office of the chamberlain of the 
convent, to John le Gerdeler, rector of Chailey (Ghaggelye) and Thomas 
Northwod, for four years, at a rent of 40«." (f. 102.) These are the only 
traces of Adam acting as prior; but we find him in 1329 described by King 
Edward III, in his letter of remonstrance to Pope John XXII, as having beei\ 



200 CLUNIAC PBIORT, 

actively labouring to remove the more regulariy appointed Tnar Peter, by 
law-suits in the Roman courts. The first extant letter of the king, dated 
from Eltham, Feb. 23, 1329, alludes to other previous remonstrances, and 
complains that although the Pope had now imposed silence on Adam {impo- 
titum/uerat filefitium dicio Jd<p\ yet he hears of the Pope haying substituted 
for him " his dear brother in Chnst, John de Courtenaye, a monk of Tavistock," 
and admonishes the Pope to respect his rights and those of the Earl, 
who would not submit to their violation {requanimiter nuUatenm patietur), 
inasmuch as the Pope had never hitherto had any right of presentation to 
priories in lay patronage. The king strongly urges the Pope to revoke any 
collation or presentation he may have made of John de Courtney, which lie 
supposes him to have made in the plenitude of his power when the truth was 
not known to him ; and exhorts him to leave Peter free from undeserved 
vexations, although malevolent suggestions, prompted by envy, had been 
made against his good fame. (Rymer.) Nothing more is heard of John de 
Courtenay, with respect to Lewes, so that we may suppose the Pope yi^ded 
to the king's significant request. But, by way of compensation, he was 
elected abbot of Tanstock, Jan. 3, 1334 ; and, relying on the influence of 
his powerful family (the Earl of Devon being in fact his yoimger brother), he 
defied his diocesan, and twice incurred suspension from his office by the 
Bishop of Exeter. On the last occasion, in 1348, the bishop ultimately for- 
gave him, for alienating the monastic property, avowedly from respect to his 
brother, only laying a prohibition upon him not to keep hounds {inhibuit 
vero ne canes venaticos alet. MS. Lands. 963, p. 102). He may again have 
longed at times for the freedom of the Sussex Weald and Downs, when he 
thus found his amusement considered by his diocesan less venial than the 
dilapidations of his abbey. 

1327-1343. — Peter de Joceaux, de Jocellis, may be looked 
upon as the regular prior from 1327, as his election had been strictly according 
to the ndes. He is described in the king's letters as having been admitted 
and engaged for some time (per aliqua tempord) in the government of the 
priory, labouring daily with the assistance of the Earl de Warenne, who is 
stated to have been ever devout to the Holy See, in recovering the rights and 
property of the convent. The king speaks of him as laudably reported " for 
his purity of life, and for his observance and prudent circumspection of reli- 
gion, and personally agreable to the Earl." 

He signed a deed at Lewes, November 20, 1331 (f. 226); and another in 
chapter at Lewes, February 16, 1334, giving leave to Roger Laket to grant 
to the abbey of Robertsbridge some land in Possingeworthe, in Waldem, held 
in capite of the priory, for the annual payment of 10«. (f 67). On May 12, 
1334 (f. 162), Prior Peter sent forth a severe rebuke to the Cluniacs sub- 
jected to him. And again, on Sept. 28, 1336, at Lewes (f. 161), he deputed 
Hugh de Chintriaco, probably the same who was afterwards prior, to give 
Farlegh Priory into the care of two monks of that convent, their own prior 
"having betaken himself, for unknown reasons, to remote and unknown 
places," without appointing any deputy. He is mentioned in a deed of 
April 14, 1339 (f. 223) ; and in an undated one confirming some land in East 
Grinstead to Walter le Fyke, witnessed by Walter, rector of Hartfield, W. 
Dani, &c. (f. 48). His seal is affixed to a deed dated Nov. 12, 1343. (See 
Suss, Arch, ColLy vol. II, p. 20.) 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 201 

1343-1349. — Jonn Gain, Cana, Gaincaria, de Janitura, 

Janituria, Gambana, was appointed by King Edward III, from West- 
minster, May 13, 1345, to a diplomatic mission abroad, together with Sir 
Otho de Grandison, Kt., and Thomas de Baddeby, clerk, " to form treaties 
of mutual help for the defence of the Catholic faith and of justice," with the 
kings of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary. (Rymer.) And from Calais, Sept. 1, 
1347, he was commissioned with John de Chalon, Lord d'Arlay, to treat with 
the proctors of (Albert the Wise) the Duke of Austria, to arrange the mar- 
riage of the king's daughter with the duke's son, and to settle the dower, the 
time and manner of her journey, &c. (Eymer.) This alliance, however, 
never took effect. There is a deed of agreement between him and Laurence 
Archinbaud, prior of Farlegh, dated at Lewes, Aug. 26, 1346, by which 
Farlegh was to pay £100 sterling to Cluny (166). He also appears in deeds 
dated from the chapter-house at Lewes, Dec. 2, 1347, and May 5, 1348 
(f. 189). And he is alluded to as " late prior," in the deed of 1351, making 
the priory denizen. 

1350-1362. — ^Hugh de Chyntriaco, Chintracoia. There are 
leases granted by him, of two virgates of land to John Scras, of Kyngeston, 
near Lewes, for a rent of 26«. Sd., dated Lewes, Sept. 21, 1350. On Feb. 25, 
1351, he is named as prior in King Edward the Third's charter of denizen- 
ship to the priory (MS. Eot. Pat., 25° Ed. Ill, Tower.) The erroneous date 
of 1373 has been assigned in Horsfield's Lewes for the priory losing its alien 
character; but the kSig's patent is dated as mentioned, and was granted 
avowedly in consideration of the convent's surrender to the king of the ad- 
vowsons of five churches in its gift, of the annual value of 200 marcs 
(£133. 6«. Sd.) ; and the priory was held liable to pay the king, while the 
Erench war lasted, the tribute (apportimi) of 100«. due to Cluny. The 
patent of 1373 (in Dugd. Monast.) recites this previous deed, and extends 
the naturalisation to the five subordinate priories of Castle Acre, Pritelwell, 
Stanesgate, Earlegh, and Horton. A lease is dated Oct. 15, 1352, and again 
on March 17, 1353 (f. 62). Oct. 20, 1353, he granted a seven years' lease 
of some land " at Newyke, in the parish of Hedfield," to Eichard Bonesherssh 
and Eobert de Bromham (f. 82). An agreement between this prior and 
Maurice, late prior of Kiikby, as to the advowson of Melton Mowbray, dated 
March 1, 1353, appears in the Inspeximus Charter of Edw. Ill, Dec. 17, 
1353 (MS. Rot. Pat. 27° Edw. Ill, p. 3, m. 7). In Jan., 1356, he signed 
the lease of a shop {unam schoppanC) in Lewes to William, carpenter, of 
Lewes, and Matilda liis wife (f. 313). In March, 1357, he dated from 
Lewes a confirmation to John Smith de la cUve and Matilda his wife, of 
"all the land at Bregghous {Sharpen Bridge?) with its appurtenances in 
filechynge, held of the manor of Horstede by Matilda, as younger sister to 
the late John Charp" (f. 67). Another deed is dated from Lewes in Sept. 
1357 (f. 83) ; and a lease of half the tithes of Terring for two years, at 70«. 
a-year, to John de Horsham, the rector, witnessed by Roger Dalyngerigge, 
&c., in 1358 (f. 104). An indenture between this prior and Gregory, the 
parson of Sculthorp, is dated at Lewes, Feb. 24, 1359 (f. 254) ; and another 
iudenture, between him and John de Haddon, is dated at Lewes, Sept. 24, 
1359 (f. 159) ; and a deed, to which " Waryn Trussel, chevaler," is a party, is 
dated from Lewes, June 25, 135^9 (f. 308). On March 24, 1360, Guichard 



202 CLUNIAC PEIORY, 

de Chentriaco, probably a relation of Prior Hugh, was preferred by him as 
prior of Prittlewell (Pat. 35° Edw. III). He is named as prior in 1361 
(Harl. MS. 6965, f. 6, from Regist. Sudbury, f. 7). On March 6, 1362 
(36° Edw. Ill), he leased a messuage in Estport (f. 61). An exchange was 
made by him with Robert and Sybilla de Dene (f. 75). 

1364-1393. — John de Caro Loco, Cherlewe, Chier Lieu, 

the gallant defender of his convent in arms against the French invaders, by 
whom he was taken prisoner ; the friend of the unfortunate Earl of Arundel, 
who vainly pointed out to him a spot for his own burial in the priory church. 

The licence granted by Edward III, in 1365, to his " beloved in Christ, the 
prior and convent of S. Pancras in Lewes," to grant the advowson of Egginton 
to the priory of Michelham, does not mention the prior's name (MS. Pat. 
39° Edw. Ill, p. 1, m. 28). On May 2, 1368, he granted the deanery of 
South Mailing to John, rector of Edbm'ton (f. 152). His name appears in 
deeds of Sept. 1369 (f. 183) ; on April 1, 1371 (f. 185); on May 1 (f. 104), 
and in June, 1372 (f. 226). On Dec. 1, 1373, he granted a lease of some 
shops in Southwark, " cynk schoppes, chescun schoppe ene une estage" (f. 184), 
at 10 marcs a year. He is named as " John now prior" by King Edward III, 
when making the priory indigenous, on May 20, 1373 (47* Edw. III). On 
March 14, 1376, an indenture was made between this prior and John Leme, 
prior of Michelham, giving to the latter, for 10«., " tdl the land called La 
Wallond, in the manor of Langenaye, extending toward the east to the road 
called Sirstreet, and in breadth between the king's highway which leads from 
La Hake to Haylsham" (f. 92). A quitclaim given to him is dated at Lewes, 
May 16, 1381 (f. 63) ; a deed signed in chapter at Lewes, March 22, 1388 
(f. 52) ; another at Michaelmas, 1392, leasing to Jolm Leme, prior of 
Michelham, the manor of Sutton, for a rent of 100«. (f. 99); another on Feb. 24, 
1394, relating to a dispute with Walter Dalingrigge as to lands in West 
Hoathly, arranged by arbitrators chosen by the Earl of Arundel (f. 52) ; 
another on July 25, 1396 (f. 52), may refer to the succeeding prior. 

1397. — John Ok. The confirmatory charter of Thomas, duke of 
Norfolk, dated Nov. 2, 1397 (21*» Ric. II), states it to have been granted " at 
the devout supplication of brother John Ok, prior of our house at Lewes, and 
of all the convent" (f. 42). 

As the large conventual seal of the priory, engraved at p. 20 
of Vol. II, Sms, Arch, ColL, appears to belong to this period, 
it is right to mention that a new reading of its inscription has 
been suggested by the reviev^er in the ' Gentleman's Mag.,' 
Nov. 1849, p. 503. By a slight change in four letters of the 
first word, "^^^>;^ale," the words, as well as the figures above 
them, become allusive to the glory of martyrdom conferred on 
St. Pancras by the anger of the Roman Emperor — " Martiriale 
decus tribuit michi Cesaris ira." As this may be the more 
correct reading, it is due to the Society to state, that the 
former version of it was not hastily adopted, and that the 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 203 

difficulty of deciphering the legend was so great, that a cast of 
the seal was previously examined by several gentlemen in 
London most conversant in such matters. As to both sides 
of the seal being of the same date in the reviewer's opinion, it 
may be remarked, that a new seal, or at least a new side, 
became requisite after the priory became denizen in 1351, and 
the other side, assumed to be the later, resembles the work- 
manship of the close of the 14th century. 

1412-1417. — John de Tency, Teny, Tring. Vid. lists in Willis, 

Tanner, Burrell MSS. A royal licence for the priory to accept lands in Walpole 
and West Walton, co. Norfolk, in mortmain, was granted in 1409-10(MS. Pat. 
11° Hen. IV, p. 2, m. 18) ; but the name of the then prior is not mentioned. 

1421-1429. — Thomas Nelond, whose majestic form, the only one 
of all the priors preserved to us, still lies shadowed out in brass at Cowfold, 
died April 18, 1429. In 1421-2 he was commissioner, together with Eobert 
de Poynings, Sir John Pelham, Kut., and others, for building and repairing 
the banks on the sea coast between Meching^ and Seaford, according to the 
custom of the Marsh (Rot. Pat. 9* Hen. V, 1, m. 13), and again with the 
same parties in 1422-3 (Rot. Pat. V Hen. YI, 1, m. 30). The only deed 
in the chartulary in which he appears as a party was signed in chapter at 
Lewes, on April 25, 1428 (f. 296). 

1433-4. — James Honiwode, Honey wood. (Hayley's MS., 6343, 
col. 517). 

1433-1444. — ^Robert Auncell, Ansell, the compiler of the col- 
lection of charters relatiug to the priory, now MS. Vespas., F. xv in the 
British Museum. In 1433-4, Robert, prior of Lewes, was commissioner for 
the sea walls between Mechyng and Seford, together with John the Earl of 
Huntingdon, Sir Robert Poyning, Sir Thomas Echyngham, Sir Thomas 
Lewkenor, Knights, John Darell, Richard Wakehurst, and others, with power 
to impress labourers upon fitting wages. (Rot. Pat. 12** Heniy VI, 1, m. 24.) 

1450-1460. — John Danyel. Odo, the abbot of Cluny, having 
appointed him chamberlain, vicar- general, and commissary of the Cluniacs in 
England, Scotland, and Ireland, the king, Henry YI, confirmed such authority, 
and granted him Hcence to travel, in execution of such office, for three years, 
on June 20, 1452 (MS. Pat. 30 Hen. VI, p. 2, m. 15). He is named, in 
1459, July 30, as prior of Lewes (Rot. Pat. 37° Hen. VI, in Harl. MS. 6963, 
f. 113) ; and in 1460, having incurred risk of statutory penalties by appointing: 
Robert Cryche prior of Montacute, on the authority of letters from the abbot 
of Cluny, King Henry VI granted him a pardon for such offence, and authority 
to execute such letters with impunity, dated at Westminster, Nov. 11, 
39" Hen. VI. (Rymer.) He is spoken of in this document as deserving con- 

* Flecchyng in the MS. (Hayley's Coll. 6344) must be an error for Mechyng, the old 
name of Newhaven. 



204 CLUNIAC PKIORY, 

fidence for " his religion, honesty, and conscience," as being cliamberlain of 
the order of Cluniacs, and as sufficiently and lawfully deputed to act as vicar- 
general and commissary of the order in England, Scotland, and Ireland. 

1486-93.— Thomas Atwell, Awell. vid. Willis. 

1526. — ^Robert. The deed surrendering Stanesgate Priory, in Essex 
(a cell to Lewes), to the dean and canons of Cardinal Wolsey*s new college at 
Oxford, is dated in the chapter-house, on July 24, 1526, and being signed by 
every individual of the Lewes priory, enables us to ascertain that there were 
then twenty-two monks, besides the prior and sub-prior. The names are as 
follows : 

Robert, prior of Lewes. Robert Harverding. 

Antony Wolvey, sub-prior. Dion MayolL 

WiUiam Atherold. Thomas Attwell. 

Simon £yry. William Gravysend. 

Clement Brown. Nicholas Canterbury. 

John Canterbury. Mathew Fayth. 

John Clement. Thomas Steven. 

William Plumster. Robert Burton. 

John Symson. William Felician. 

David Fremfyld. John Martyne. 

William Bayley. Richard Lucy. 

Thomas Maydston. 

John Lewe. (Monast. t. v, p. 38.) 

1532 — John Ashdowne. After spending seven years in studying at 
Cambridge, he took the degree of Bachelor of Canon Law at Oxford, on March 
29, 1506 (Wood's Fasti Oxon. 1, 9). He is mentioned as John, prior of 
Lewes, as being present at a Last at Westham, Oct. 3, 1532 (24* Hen. VIII), 
together with Eichard, abbot of Bayham, John, prior of Michelham, Thomas 
Lord Dacre, and others, when penalties were imposed on the placing of nets, 
pots, engmes, &c., in Pevensey Marsh. 

1534-1537. — ^Robert Crowham, Croham, the last Prior. He 
took the degree of Bachelor in Theology in 1526. He is mentioned in the 
Valor Eccles. of 1534-5 as " now prior." 

The commissioners of Henry VIII soon afterwards came 
down to inquire into the Kves of the monks in Lewes, and 
the doom of the Priory was evident. We need not search too 
closely into the morals of the Lewes brethren. The commis- 
sioners, as Fuller quaintly observes in his ' Church History,' 
'' knew the message they were sent on, and found out water 
enough to drive the mill." Prom every monastery they visited 
was sent up a report of detected sins, the details of which still 
remain in MSS., headed comperta crimina, and which it re- 
quires but little charity to distrust. The last abbot of- 
Glastonbury adopted as his motto, perhaps with a hope of the 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 205 

revival of his abbey, mersos reatu smcita, " rouse up those 
plunged in guilt;" but let us hope that the inmates of the 
priory did not require so fierce a rousing. Robert Crowham 
was himself quite ready for a change, and the last representa- 
tive of Lanzo became a contented prebendary in the cathedral 
of Lincoln, April 11, 1537 (B. Willis, 2, 237). Probably 
this preferment was one of the " just and reasonable causes" 
moving his conscience to the final surrender of the priory to 
the king on November 16, 1537.^ Nor was this all the com- 
pensation he expected, for he also obtained a promise from 
the Duke of Norfolk of a large share in the spoils of his own 
priory. This appears in a letter from Henry Foisted, a com- 
missioner employed by Lord Cromwell in Kent, to his master. 
(Cott.MS. Cleop. E. iv, f. 233.) 

" My botuiden dutie rememberd unto your lordsliipp, tliis shalle be to sig- 
nifie the same, that the prior of Lewes hathe last Mondaye knolaged a fyne, 
both of Lewes and Castle Acre, albeit, it is thought that Castle Acre passeth 
not by the fyne ; and as concemyng the preamble of the dede, it is now fully 
resolved, that ther shall not be any such preamble. The prior afl&rmed, this 
day, that my Lord of Norfolk thean promised hym to have aU the goods of 
the monastery, and the oon half of the debts. I am very sorry that my com- 
mand was not to come a little rather upon Sondaye, that I might have spoken 
with your lordshipp in the premisses, asserteynyng your good lordshipp that 
Master Pollard and I entend, God willing, to be at fiygate tomorrow, at night, 
according to my Lord of Norfolk's appointment ; and thus our Lorde save 
your good lordshipp in Grod's saving mercy. At the Kolls, this Mondaye, the 
xii*''" day of November. Your lordshipp's servant, 

" Heney Polsted." 

Henry VIII, in his grant of the priory to Lord Cromwell 
(dated Feb. 16, 1538), uses redundant phrases, as if in bitter 
mockery, to describe the free willingness of this surrender by 
the convent. The prior and monks are stated to have acted 
by a deed under their common seal — 

" with unanimous assent, the consent of their deliberate minds, by their own 
certain knowledge and mere motion, from certain just and reasonable causes 
specially moving their minds and consciences, voluntarily, of their own accord." 
(Burrell MSS. 6706, f. 183). The royal grant specifies, among other details, 
" the church, the beU-tower (campanile), and the coemitery," and the whole 
was to be held of the crown, " in capite by military service, namely, by the 
twentieth part of one military fee, and on the annual payment of £7 7 . 14«. 5ie?." 

3 The date of Nov. 6, 1538, is by some error given to this act in the new edition of the 
' Monasticon.' 



206 CLUNIAC PRIORY, 

Within one short month, after obtaining on such easy terms 
the accumulated bounty of five centuries of benefactors. Lord 
Cromwell sent down his skilled agents of destruction, and 
although the Priory Church must have been the most beau- 
tiful building in Lewes, even the very memory of its site 
soon perished from among the succeeding generations of the 
townsmen. 

We have, indeed, vivid descriptions by eye-witnesses of the 

eagerness, not only of strangers, but of the very townsmen, to 

share in the plunder of these monastic buildings in England 

at the time of their fall ; and the following extracts from the 

third series of Sir Henry Ellis's ' Original Letters' may be 

considered as describing scenes witnessed at Lewes, as well as 

elsewhere : 

" It would have pitied any heart to see what tearing up of the lead there was, 
and plucking up of boards, and throwing down of the sparres, and when the lead 
was torn off and cast down into the church, and tombs in the church all broken 
(for in most abbeys were divers noble men and women, yea, and in some abbeys, 
kings, whose tombs were regarded no more than the tombs of all other inferior 
persons, for to what end should they stand, when the church over them was 
not spared for their cause ?) and all things of price either spoiled, carried away, 
or defaced to the uttermost. The persons that cast the lead into fodders, 
plucked up all the seats in the choir, wherein the monks sat when they said 
service, which were like to the seats in minsters, and burned them, and melted 
the lead therewithal, although there was wood plenty within a flight shot of 
them." (V. iii, p. 32.) 

One of Cromwell's commissioners wrote to him thus from 

Warwick : 

" The power people thorowly in every place be so gredy upon thes 
howsys, when they be suppressed, that by night and daye, nott oidy of the 
towne, but also of the countrye, they do continually resortt as long as any 
dore, wyndoo, yren, or glasse, or lowse ledde remaynethe in any of them. 
And if it were so don oonly wher I go, the more blame miht be layd to me ; 
but yt ys universally that the people be thus gredy for yren, wyndoes, doores, 
and ledde. In every place I kepe wache as long as I taiy, and prison those 
that do thus abuse them selvys, and yet other wiU nott refrayn." (Vol. iii, 139.) 

Another agent of Cromwell, in Lincolnshire, advises him 
not to pull down the stonework of some monasteries 
there, on account of the expense ; but the king's commission 
being "to pull down to the ground all the walls of the 
churches, steeples, cloisters, frateries, dorters, chapter-houses, 
and all other houses, saving them that be necessary for a 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 207 

farmer," he proposes to take away and sell all the bells and 
lead, to pull down the roofs, battlements, and stairs, and then 
" let the wals stand, and charge some with them, as a quarry 
of stone, to make sales of, as they that hath need will fetch." 
(Vol. iii, p. 268.) 

The descendants of Warren and Gundrada might well 
have used on behalf of Lewes, if they had dared, the almost 
pathetic language of Sir Simon Harcourt, when he pleaded 
for the sparing a monastery in Staflfordshire : " a little howse, 
the whyche my power auncestors dyd buyld, and gave away 
from them and their heires for ever a great porcion of their 
landes for this intent, ther to be prayed for perpetually ; and 
so, many of them be tumulate and buryed." (Vol. iii, p. 18.) 

The heathen Seneca thought that some power of retribu- 
tion was given to violated tombs : 

" Vires aliquas natura sepulcris 
Attiibuit, tumulos vindlcat umbra suos.'' 

L. A. Senec^Ei Epiffr, 

And many a Christian in the time of Henry VIII probably 
recognised such a retribution in the signal fall and execution 
of Lord CromweU, which so speedily ensued. 

On former occasions when the Priory stood in peril, the 
lay patron, the Earl de Warenne, was ready to shield it from 
the royal grasp. In 1324, when Peter de Worldham and 
Stephen Poer were sent as commissioners by Edward II to 
appraise and seize all alien priories, they made the following 
exception as to Lewes : 

" As to the revenues of the Priory of Lewes, with its appurtenances, from the 
said dayOctober 8, in the eighteenth year {ofKingEdw.II, 1324), to November 
13 next following, they make no return (non respondent), because the king by 
his brief, at the supplication of John Earl de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, has 
commanded the said commissioners not to intermeddle with the said revenue 
of the priory, or its appurtenances, but to restore to the same earl the said 
priory, with its appurtenances and revenues arising therefrom, together with 
the goods and chattels found in the same." (Add. MSS., 6164, p. 467.) 

Long before the violent suppression of the English Cluniacs 
there is evidence that evil passions had penetrated within their 
cloistered walls. It has been already stated that Peter de 
Joceaux, the Lewes prior, sent forth a stern reproof (f. 162) 
in 1334, from Lewes, in a grand and verbose epistle to his 



208 CLUNIAC PRIORY, 

subordinate priors and sub-priors. Referring to certain of his 
monks having been abready condemned by the chapter-general 
held at Cluny in 1329, "as infamous, and subjected to per- 

Eetual imprisonment on account of their transgressions, rebel- 
ons, conspiracies, and other enormities," and fearing lest 
some of them should return to their offences, Uke dogs to their 
vomit, he ordained that they should be held as aliens, and in- 
capable of holding any oflSce whatever, or doing any legal act ; 
that their voices should be considered as those of enemies, and 
all egress from the monastic inclosures, except in case of 
processions with the convent, interdicted them. He then 
proceeded to complain, on the report of trustworthy persons 
and by his own experience, that monks, not professed, had 
assumed the direction of affairs in certain of his convents, 
and strictly commanded a return to order within one month. 
Alluding to the confusion caused in the Lewes priory by the 
intrusion of the pope's nominees, Adam and John, who seem 
to have carried off with them all moveable articles, such as 
Prior Foville's gilt cup, and other valuables, the prior stated 
that " all the things which were in our refectory, at the time 
of our promotion, intended for the use and service of the 
brethren, had been, by certain sons of discord and iniquity, 
fraudulently alienated, subtracted, and taken away, without 
hope of restitution, so that the said refectory is stripped of 
everything." In order to get a fresh supply of necessaries for 
the Lewes refectory, the prior then ordained that aU futxure 
subordinate priors, and even those created by him, should pay, 
within one year of their creation, 20s., or 13*. 4^?., according 
to their degree, and be liable to arrest, within the walls of the 
priory, by the sub-prior of Lewes, until payment be fully made. 
The officer of the refectory was to lay out the money by the 
advice of the sub-prior. The priors concerned are stated to 
have consented in the chapter-general to this wholesome 
{salubre) statute, which concludes with wishing "peace and 
eternal life to those who keep it, and may the curse of our- 
selves and of God absorb and involve all who contravene it. 
Given in our chapter at Lewes, on the 12th day of May, in the 
year of our Lord 1334." 

Among the glories now lost to Lewes, was the honour of 
having a cardinal in the 13th century, holding the rectory of 



ST. PANCRAS, LEWES. 209 

one of its parish churches in the prior's gift ; and it is edify- 
ing to observe the earnestness with which the Cardinal 
Hubert, then an absentee at Lyons, in his act of resignation, 
urges the Prior of Lewes to fill up his place with a resident 
rector. 

" Hubert, by Divine mercy cardinal deacon of St. Eustace, to all who shall 
peruse this letter eternal greeting in the Lord. Know all of you, that we, on 
the 20th day of July, in our chamber (camera), in the presence of the religious 
man the abbot of Cluny, and very many other trustworthy persons, have 
resigned the church of St. Mary in Westout in Lewes, in the diocese of 
Chichester, the rector of which we have hitherto been, into the hands of the 
religious man the prior of Lewes, patron of the same church of St. Mary, who 
receives and accepts the said resignation, most earnestly exhorting the same 
prior, that he ought to present to the same church a fitting person, who shall 
be willing and able to make personal residence in that church, and to discharge 
devout service to God, as the care (cura) of the same church requires. Given 
at Lyons, on the aforesaid day and month, in the third year of the pontificate of 
the Lord Pope Gregory the Tenth." (A.D. 1274). Lew. Chart., f. 111. 

In concluding, for the present, these miscellaneous remarks 
on Lewes Priory, principally authenticated by the MS. char- 
tulary, it may be mentioned, that of this Cardinal Hubert, a 
prince of the church, and an important man in his lifetime, 
no other trace remains in Lewes history than this hitherto 
unnoticed record ; and Prior Auncell's clerk, who copied the 
above document into his chartulary 170 years afterwards, 
knew so little about him as even to misread his name Ubertus, 
for Albertus, and so writes him down. It may indeed be 
gathered from other authorities, that Hubert was a noble 
Tuscan, of the family of the Counts d'Elci, near Sienna ; that 
he bought the city of Orbitello from his aunt ; that he was 
made cardinal in 1261 by Pope Urban IV; and that, after 
assisting to create three popes, he died, July 13, 1276, two 
years after the resignation of his Lewes benefice, leaving to 
the church of Asti, of which he was archdeacon, a bequest of 
money and " a golden cross, in which is part of the true 
cross, with a silver foot," and sundry rich church vestments. 
(Ciaconius, Vitae Pontif. et Card. Roman., ed. 1677, t. ii, 
p. 159. Vitae et res gestae Pontif. et Card., fol. 1630, 
p. 719.) It must be a matter of speculation how long this 
wealthy Italian condescended to retain his Lewes rectory, or 
whether he ever visited it, and it is equally doubtful whether 

III. 14 



210 



CLVNIAC PRIORT, ST. PANCRA8, LEWES. 



he owed its emoluments to papal nomination, monastic in- 
trigue, or to his own merits. 

The massive gold ring, represented in the accompanying 
woodcut, was found some years ago, among the ruins of the 
priory, and is now the property of Mr. J. Parsons. It was 
probably a new year's gift — "en bon an" being engraved 
within the circle — ^to some Lewes prior in the fifteenth century, 
and exhibits the patron saints of the priory, the Virgin, 
St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Pancras. When found, it retained 
some of the blue enamel forming the ground near the figures. 
A gold ring, found at Orford castle in Suffolk, similar in form, 
but without the triple facets of the centre, is engraved at 
p. 89 of No. 25, * Archaeological Journal.' 







OBSERVATIONS ON 

THE BUCKLE: THE BADGE OF THE FAMHiY 
OF PELHAM, 

AND ITS APPLICATION TO VARIOUS ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS IN SUSSEX ; 
AND ON THE 

BADGE OF THE FAMILY OF DE LA WARR. 

BY ME. MAEK ANTONY LOWEE. 



" It is a reverend thing to see an ancient castle or building not in decay ; or to see a 
fair timber tree sound and perfect ; how much more to behold an antient noble family 
which hath stood against the waves and weathers of time ?" — Bacon. Cf Nobility, 

** Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the House of the 
Lord." — 1 Chron. xxvi, 27. 



Among the many distinguished vice-presidents of the 
Sussex ArchaBological Society are two noblemen who, from the 
great antiquity of their families and their long territorial 
connection with the county, seem to hold that office with a 
peculiar appropriateness. More than five centuries ago, their an- 
cestors — ^both Sussex knights — ^fought side by side beneath the 
victorious banner of the Black Prince, and, upon the plains of 
^oicttcrS^ made a magnanimous king their captive ; and from 
that distant period, downward, the fortunes of their houses 
have ever been more or less identified with Sussex interests and 
Sussex history. Both at this day occupy an equal rank in 
the English peerage, and although they no longer, like their 
stalwart ancestors of other days, lead forth the mail-clad men 
of Sussex to the field of sanguinary conflict upon a foreign 
shore, they enjoy, at home, a no less glorious, and far more 
beneficial, place in the bloodless annals of the arts of peace. 

The capture of King John of France by Sir Roger la Warr 
and John de Pelham, was commemorated, according to the 



212 THE BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 

fashion of chivalric times, by an addition to their armorial 
ensigns ; and these Badges are still borne by the Earl de la 
Warr and the Earl of Cliichester. 

The following account of the origin of the Badges is given 
in CoUins's Peerage (Edit. 1768, ii, 87.) 

" John de Felham was a person of great fame in the reign 
of Edward 111. He attended that victorious monarch in his 
wars with the French, and was a competitor in taking John, 
king of France, prisoner at the battle of Poictiers, on Monday, 
September 19th, 1356, 30th of Edward 111. Froysart gives 
an account, that with the king were taken, beside his son Philip, 
the Earl of TankerviUe, Sir Jaques of Bourbon, the Earls of 
Ponthieu and Eue, with divers other noblemen, who being 
chased to Poictiers, the town shut their gates against them, not 
suffering any to enter, so that divers were slain, and every 
Englishman had four, five, or six prisoners, and the press being 
great to take the king, such as Imew him cried, * Sir, yield, or 
you are dead! * whereupon, as the chronicle relates, he pelded 
himself to Sir Dennis Morbeck, a knight of Artois, in the 
EngUsh service, and being afterwards forced from him, more 
than ten knights and esquires challenged the taking of the king. 
Among these (adds Collins) Sir Roger la Warr and John de 
Pdham were most concerned ; and in memory of so signal an 
action, and the king surrendering his sword to them, Sir Roger 
la Warr, Lord la Warr, had the Crampet or Chape of his sword 
for a badge of that honour, and John de Felham, afterwards 
knighted, had the Buckle of a belt as the mark of the same 
honour, which was sometimes used by his descendants as a seal 
manual, and at others the said buckles on each side a cage, 
being an emblem of the captivity of the said King of France, 
and was therefore borne for a crest, as in those times was cus- 
tomary. The buckles, &c., were likewise used by his descen- 
dants in their great seals ; as is evident from several of them 
appendent to old deeds." 

Deferring the De la Wart badge to the end of this paper, I 
propose first to illustrate the Felham Buckle. 

The surname of Pelham is derived from the manor of 
Pelham in Hertfordshire, where, according to Madox (Hist. 
Excheq, p. 395), there anciently stood a castle. Although the 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARE. 



213 



first direct ancestor of the family on record is Walter de Pelham, 
who flourished in the reign of Edward I, there is little doubt, 
as CoUins observes, that Pelham had been in the possession of 
the family from the period of the Norman Conquest. The 
Three Pelicans, the well-known coat of the family, were 
formerly painted in the church of Pelham^ a pretty certain 
proof that that building had been erected by a famUy which 
was afterwards to become remarkable for the number of reli- 
gious edifices erected and enriched by its pious liberality. 

This fact proves the high antiquity of the arms of Pelham, 
which appear to have originated in the taste for punning so 
observable in early heraldry. Pel was the initial syllable for 
*pehcan' — so it was for 'Pelham,' and this was sufficient. 
In the oldest examples the pehcans were represented ' close,' i. e. 
with their vrings down ; afterwards the wings appear shghtly 
elevated ; and finally, they are upraised to their full extent. In 
this manner they are now borne. 

The subjoined woodcut represents the various phases of 
this ensign. Fig. 1 is from the spandrel of the western door 
of Laughton church; fig. 2 is from a sculptured stone at 
Robertsbridge abbey ; and fig. 3 is the existing mode of re- 
presentation. 




The Crest ' a pea<50ck in his pride,' though of much later 
adoption, also partakes of the same punning character. 

The following genealogical table will serve to render more 
inteUigible the notices of the Buckle and other armorial bear- 
ings referred to in the course of this paper : — 

* There are three contiguous parishes in Hertfordshire called respectively Brent-Pelham, 
Stocking-Pelham, and Fumeux-Pelham, but I am unable to state which of the churches is 
the one referred to. 



214 



THE BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 



Waltbe db Pblbam, Lord of Pelham in 1292 (21 Edw. I), 

Lord alio of Cottenbam, co. Kent, and of Twinsted, oo. Esaex : 

died in 1292. 



IK'illiam de Pelham, ion and 
bcb, aged 15 in 1292; died 
without i 



Walter de Pelham, in 28 Edw. I, 
had a confirmation.gTant of lands at 
Hailifaam, Honeye, Slc,, in Sussex. 



J 



Thomas de Pelham, ion and heir, was living in 2 Edw. II. 
His name occurs as witness to a dateless deed of Lawrence 
Leoole, concerning lands at Waldron. (A.) 



1 



Thomas de Pelham is mentioned in a deed, dated at Warbleton, 
in 1346 (20 Edw. III). (B.)_ 



Sir John de Pelham took John, King of France, prisoner, at the 
battle of Poictien ; whence the ]9elfam iSttckle. In 43 Edw. Ill 
he wai iq>pointed, by Sir John Sutton and Thomas Teuwe, to 
deliver leisin of their manor of Laughton and hundred of Shiplake, 
CO. Susiex, to Thomas de Vere, Earl of Oxford. In 1379-80 
Archbishop Whittlesea appointed him master and surveyor of his 
bailiwick of Stoneham, in Ringmer. He espoused Joan, daughter 
of Vincent Herbert, alias Finch, by whom he obtained certain pro- 
perty at Winchelsea. He v^as buried in Canterbury Cathedral. (C.) 



I 



Sir John de Pelham, K. B., Esquire to John of Gaunt, Lord of 
Pelham, Constable of Pevensey Castle, and Knight of the Shire 
for Sussex, temp. Henry IV. In the 2d year of that reign he 
was High-Sheriff. He re-founded the Priory of Hastings, at 
Warbleton ; and was buried at Robertsbridge Abbey, 1429. He 
used for his sign-manual the Buckle of a Belt, and on each ^de 
thereof the letters I. P. (1400). He married Joan Crownall (?), 
who so gallantly defended Pevensey Castle against the Yorkists. 
This Sir John's rent-roll, dated 1403 (5 Henry IV), 
proves him to have been lord {inter alia) of the manors of 
Laughton, Burwash, Crowhurst, &c. (D.) 



(See p. 215.) 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARR. 



215 



(See ante, p. 214.) 



Sir John de Pelham, only son, Constable of Peyensey 
Castle, Lord of the manors of Laughton (with the 
hundred of Shiplake), Crowhurst, Burwash, Dal- 
lington, &c. His will is dated 36 Hen. VI. His 
seal gives as a crest, a Cage ; on each side thereof a 
Buckle. (E.) He married Joan de Courcy, servant 



Joan Pelham, 
wife of Sir 
John St. Clair, 
or Seyndere. 



Agnes Pelham, 
wife of John 
Colbrond, of 
Boreham. 
(F.) 



w \msca i^ainenn( 


5. = 






1 Su- John 


« William 


3 Thomas 


^Catherine, married, 


Pelham, 


Pelham, 


Pelham, 


first, Bramshot ; after- 


of Laughton, 


of Laughton, 




wards, Lewknor. (J.) 


married 


succeeded ; 


succeeded, as 


3 Cicely, married Wil- 


Alice Lewkenor, 


died in 1503, 


survivor of his 


liam Lunsford, of East 


but left no 


and was buried 


brothers ; 


Hothly. (K.) 


male issue. 


at the New 


died in 1516, 


5 Joan, marr. Covert ; 


(G.) 


Priory of 


and was buried 


and, subsequently,Wil- 




Warbleton : 


at Laughton. 


Uam Ashbumham, Esq. 




no issue. (H.) 


J (I.) 


(L.) 



William Pelham, third son, and eventual successor, rebuilt 
Laughton Place, in 1534, died in 1538, and was buried at 
Laughton. From him descends, in the tenth generation, Henry 
Thomas, present Earl of Chichester. (M.) 

It is somewhat remarkable that Eroissart, whose minuteness 
of detail in his account of the miUtary transactions of the 
period is extraordinary, does not allude to the particular 
circumstance from which the Pelham badge originated. He 
does not even record the name of Pelham. Walsingham, 
Knyghton, Fabyan, and all the other chroniclers down to 
Holinshed, are also silent upon it. Neither is there any pubUc 
or private document confirmatory of the story, which rests upon 
the simple authority of an undisputed family tradition. And 
were this tradition unsupported by strong indirect evidence it 
would have no better claim upon our credence than what is 
usually accorded to similar statements, few of which will bear 
the test of historic investigation. 

The earliest instance of any record of the circumstance that 
occurs, is an inscription which, according to Royer's ' East- 
boame Guide,' published in 1789, existed at Laughton; but 
which has subsequently disappeared. It was to the following 



216 



THE BADGES OP THE FAMILIES OF 



effect: — " Johan de Pelhamy dans le temps de Edauard HI, 
1356, a la guerre de PoictierSy en prenant le roi de France 
prisonier avoit donnepour Ensign d*honneur la Boucle, et Roger 
la War, le chape de Tepee; la Boucle etoit portee auf foix auz 
deux cotes d'une Cage, 1503." 

The next account is that given by Philipot, Somerset Herald, 
who, in 1632, drew up a pedigree of the family. That state- 
ment is followed by Collins. 

It is uncertain whether the badge was actually borne by 
Sir John de Pelham himself, though there is curious presump- 
tive evidence that it was. Although Sir John's family had 
been settled in Sussex for several generations, they still retained 
their original estate at Pelham. To show the probability of 
the Buckle having been used by Sir John, it is necessary to 
state that the church of Ware, co. Hertford, having been given 
to the monks of St. Elbrulf, at Utica in Normandy, in the 12th 
century, a cell to their monastery was founded there. During 
the wars between Edward III and the French, this establish- 
ment shared the fate of the other alien priories : it was confiscated 

and let to farm at £200 per 
annum.^ Attached to the pos- 
sessions of the priory of Ware 
was the church of Thunderich, 
now Thundridge. On Thun- 
dridge church the Pelham 
Buckle unquestionably occurs, 
once in the south spandrel of 
the western door, and twice 
upon a stone fixed in the south 
wall of the tower. That over 
the western door is represented 
upon a kind of cockade or 
ribbon - knot within a rude 
quatrefoil. The larger one on the south side of the tower is 
also placed upon a cockade, which occupies the centre of a 
rosette, placed within a quatrefoil, and that within a circle; 
the stone itself is square, and on the left hand side of it. 




2 Tanner's Notitia, 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARR. 217 

towards the top, a small plain buckle is introduced.^ As the 
family do not appear to have held any lands in the parish, it 
is difficult to account for the existence of the badge at this 
church, except upon the supposition that Pelham obtained, in 
reward for his services, a grant of the profits of a portion of 
the confiscated property, and, becoming a benefactor to the 
church of Thundridge, had his liberality commemorated by 
the placing of his badge upon the fabric, according to the 
prevailing fashion of the times. 

This supposition receives some sanction from the proximity 
of Thundridge to Pelham, his old ancestral estate. 

Sir John de Pelham, after a career of fame and prosperity, 
found a resting-place, among several of his feUow-heroes, in 
Canterbury cathedral, to which he had been a benefactor. It 
will be seen by a reference to the pedigree {ante), that his 
ancestors had possessed the manor of Cottenham, in Kent, 
and that he himself had held an office under Whittlesea, arch- 
bishop of Canterbury. (C.) " His figure in armour, with the 
arms of his family upon his breast," says Collins,* " was 
painted in glass in the chapter-house of Canterbury." A 
modernised drawing of this painting was given in Phihpot's 
pedigree of Pelham, which is engraved in Collins's 'Baronage;' 
but the original has unfortunately perished. 

The evidence that Sir John de Pelham (D), the son and 
successor of the Poictiers hero, used the Buckle as his badge 
is quite positive. According to Collins, he employed " the 
buckle of a belt, and on each side thereof the letters I. P., as 
his sign manual," in 1400. The priory of the Holy Trinity at 
Hastings, originally founded in the reign of Richard I, by Sir 
Walter Bricet, having been rendered uninhabitable by the 
encroachment of the sea. Sir John assisted in the refoundation 
of the establishment at Warbleton, some miles from the ori- 
ginal site, upon his estate there, giving its inmates (according 
to the hcence of King Henry IV, dated 23d Oct. anno regni 
14^), besides his lands and tenements at Warbleton, the benefit 

3 For the intunation of the existence of this early example of the badge I am indebted 
to W. H. Blaauw, Esq., Hon. Sec., and for the sketch from which the accompanying cut 
has been made, to Mrs. Blaauw. 

* Peerage, edit. 1768, ii, 87. 



218 THE BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 

of his influence with that monarch for a grant, for twenty 
years, of the manor of Monkencourt, in Withyham, and the 
church there, lately confiscated from the priory of Mortejni in 
France. This convent was thenceforth designated the " New 
Priory." On the farm-house constructed in part from the 
remains of this priory, the Buckle occurs ; and I am informed 
that a few years since the wainscot of the interior was simi- 
larly decorated.* 

This Sir John de Pelham stood high in the favour of King 
Henry IV, who, in the beginning of his reign, made him his 
swordbearer. It may not be deemed irrelevant if I submit a 
copy of the deed conferring this honourable oflBce, with a 
translation, for the benefit of the numerous ladies who grace 
the list of the Sussex Archaeological Society. I believe the 
document has never been printed. 

" Henricus (IV) Dei gratia, 8cc., omnibus ad quos presentes literae per- 
venerint salutem. Sciatis quod de gratia nostra speciali et consideratione boni 
et gratuiti servitii per dilectum et fidelem nostrum Johanneni Pelham, Chivaler^ 
nobis ante hsec tempora impensi, concessimus eidem Johanni quod ipse pro 
termino vitse suae glalimm nostrum in nostra presentia loco et tempore requisitis 
deferre possit, salvo jure cujuslibet qui ofiiciimi illud fortuitu clamare yoluerit 
in fiituro. In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentee. 
Teste meipso apud Westmonasterium xxiv die Oetobr', anno regni nostri prime. 
" Per breve de privato sigillo." ® 

{TraiMlation^ 
" Henry IV, by the grace of God, &c., to all to whom these letters shall 
come, health. Know ye that we, of our special favour and in consideration of 
the good and free service formerly rendered us by our beloved and faithful 
John Pelham, Knight, have granted to the same John, for the term of his life, 
the right of bearing our tAsotll in our presence at the place and time required, 
saving the right of any person who may hereafter chance to claim that office. 
In testimony of which we have caused these our letters-patent to be written. 
Witness myself, at Westminster, the 24th day of October, in the first year of 
our reign. 

" By writ of privy seal." 

In the first year of Henry V, Sir John was a privy councillor 
to the king, and ambassador to the French court, and in the 

* In a survey (in the Aagmentation Office, temp. Hen. VIII, but without date) of " The 
Demaynes belonging to the New Priorye,'' mention is made of an inclosure called "Pelham 
Gardeuy ij acres." 

« BurreU MSS. 5702, f. 331. 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARE. 219 

following year the monarch conunitted to his custody James I, 
king of Scotland, who had been made prisoner by his father 
in 1406. 

" Henricus (Y) Dei gratia, &c., omnibus ad quos, &c., salutem. Sciatis 
quod cum commiserimus dilecto et fideli nostro Johaniu Pelham, Chivaler, 
custodiam & gubemationem Jacobi, regis Scotiae, quamdiu nobis placuerit, 
Nos ex consideratione concessimus eidem Johanni pro sustentatione ipsius 
regis in victu et vestitu et aliis necessariis sibi incumbentibus, septengintas 
libras percipiendas singulis annis quamdiu prsefatus Johannes custodiam et 
gubemationem ejusdem regis habuerit, in certis locis prout inter concilium 
nostrum & prsefatum Johannem potent concordari, ad terminos Paschse, 
nativitatis S. Johannis BaptistaB, S. Micbaelis, et Natalis Domini, per sequales 
portiones. In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes. 
Teste meipso apiid Westm. xxij die Februar', anno regni nostri secundo. 

" Per ipsum Eegem." 7 

{Tramlation.) 

" Henry V, by the grace of God, &c., to all to whom, &c., health. Know 
ye that whereas we have committed to our beloved and faithful John Pelham, 
Kjiight, the custody and government of James, king of Scotland, during our 
pleasure, we have, upon consideration, granted to the said John, for the 
support of the same king, in food and raiment, and other necessaries, seventy 
pounds, to be received every year, as long as the said John shall have the 
custody and government of the king, in such places as may be agreed upon 
between our council and the said John, at the respective terms of Easter, the 
nativity of St. John the Baptist, Michaelmas, and Christmas, by equal por- 
tions. In testimony of which we have caused these letters-patent to be 
written. Witness myself, at Westminster, the 2 2d day of Februaiy, in the 
second year of our reign. By the King himself." 

Returning from this digression, it may be remarked, that 
there exists a rent-roll of Sir John's possessions in 1403,® 
from which it appears that he was lord, inter alia, of 
Laughton, Bm'gherse (now Burwash), Crowhm*st, all in 
Sussex, and numerous other manors. Of his religious zeal 
we have an instance in the foundation of Warbleton 
Priory. He was hkewise a benefactor to the abbey of 
Robertsbridge, and by his last will, dated 8 Feb., 1429,. 
directed his body to be buried there. So lately as 1831 
there was remaining, among the ruins of that building, a 

7 There is little doubt that Pevensey castle was the prison of the unfortunate king ; Sir 
John de Pelham bemg at this period constable of that fortress. There, a few years pre- 
viously, Edward Duke of York had been Pelham's prisoner ; and there, at a subsequent 
date. Queen Joan of Navarre, the widow of Henry IV, endured a long captivity. 

8 Collins, ii, 92. 



220 



THE BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 




beautifully-carved stone, bearing the Pelham Buckle, sur- 
rounded with ornamental foliage — ^probably a fragment of his 

tomb. On my last visit to the spot, 
in 1848, it had disappeared, and on 
inquiry I was told that many carved 
stones {this doubtless among the num- 
ber) had been broken up to mend an 
adjacent highway ! I consider myself 
fortunate, therefore, in having preserv- 
ed a sketch of so interesting a relic.^ 
Several of the churches standing within the manors held by 
this eminent personage have the buckle carved on their stone- 
work, proving the Pelhams to have been either the builders of 
or benefactors to those structures; though it is doubtful 
whether we ought to assign them to him or to one or more 
of his descendants. 

His successor. Sir John 
de Pelham (E), gave on his 
seal, as a crest, a ca^e upon 
a helmet, and on each side a 
buckle, emblematical of the 
captivity of the 
French king. A 
most exquisite im- 
pression of this 
seal, in the pos- 
session of the Eurl of Chiches- 
ter, was exhibited at the 
Lewes meeting in 1848. The 
cage has sometimes been used 
by the family as a crest in 
more recent times. ^^ The 
counter-seal is a buckle, with 
the letters I. P. 



^ Among other stones of which I made drawings, were sereral monumental slabs with 
crosses, a head of Christ, and a fragment of an inscription for one of the family of 
De Bodiham. The arms of Pelham, figured at p. 213, having been built into the garden 
wall, escaped destruction. 

^^ Historical and Allusive Arms. 1803. An imperfect impression of this seal (penes 
A, H. Burkitt, Esq., F.S.A.) is engraved in the Journal of the Brit. Archaeological Asso* 
ciation, vol. i, p. 252. 






PELHAM AND DE LA WARR. 221 

We have seen that the hero of Poictiers was connected with 
the manor of Laughton in 43 Edward III. His successor 
became its lord. The hundred of Shiplake, which is nearly 
coextensive with that manor, comprises the six parishes of 
Laughton, Ripe, Chalvington, Chiddingly, East Hothly, and 
Waldron. The church of Chalvington retains no evidence of 
the good- will of the family ; to the other five churches they 
were certainly benefactors. At Waldron 
the arms of Pelham, Azure, three pelicans 
(close) argent, remain in one of the win- 
dows. The shield is evidently of high 
antiquity, and perhaps dates as far back as 
Thomas (A), grandfather of the first Sir 
John, who was connected with the parish 
as early as the commencement of the reign 
of Edward II. 

Laughton church became, after the dissolution of the 
monasteries, the burial-place of the family. This edifice is 
not remarkable for its architectural features. The chancel, in 
a vault beneath which repose many members of this noble 
house, has been rebuilt in recent times. Two or three simple 
slabs and a few decaying hatchments alone mark the place as 
the mausoleum of an ancient hne. No ostentatious tombs, no 
tasteless tablets, commemorate the noble dead. Few famihes 
have been less addicted than the Pelhams to monimiental 
marble. 

On the rood-loft beam are preserved two Pelham helmets, 
one of about the time of Henry VII, the other of later date ; 
the iron crest, " a peacock in his pride,'' belonging to one of 
them, is still preserved, but a pair of gauntlets have disap- 
peared. The tower of the church is in the perpendicular 
style. The moulding of the western doorcase is terminated 
on each side by the Buckle, and the spandrels contain shields 
with the (ancient) arms of Pelham on the dexter side, and 
those of Colbrond, viz. a fesse; on a sinister canton a 
crescent — on the sinister. Agnes, daughter of Sir John Pelham 
(F), married John Colbrond, oif Boreham, ancestor of the 
baronets of that name, and the arms of Pelham and Colbrond 
occurring here in juxtaposition, afford probable evidence of 
the erection of this church (or at least of the tower) about the 



222 



THE BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 




time of Henry V. It may be remarked, that the Colbronds 
had lands in Laughton previously to that period, and that a 
manor-farm, bearing their name, has been in the possession of 
the Pelhams for about four centuries. The arms subsequently 
borne by the family were different, viz. " azure, three levels, 
with plummets, or. ' 

Chiddingly church has some features of greater antiquity, 
but the tower, with its fine stone spire and angle pinnacles, is 
also of the perpendicular era. The moulding of the western 
door, like that of Laughton, terminates with Pelham Buckles ; 
but the shields in the spandrels are not charged with any 
armorial coat. 

Bipe church is a beautiful little structure, partly decorated 
and partly perpendicular. Here again the Buckles occur on 
the mouldings of the western door-case, but the spandrel 
shields are uncharged. 

The architecture of Edsthothly church is also of late cha- 
racter. The moulding of the western door, as in the other 
instances, finishes with Buckles. The spandrel shields are 
both charged with the arms of Lunsford, "acheveron between 
three boars' heads." The Lunsfords were settled at Lunsford, 
in the parish of Echingham, so early as the reign of Edward 
the Confessor. They were resident, temp. Edw. IV, at 
Whiligh, in this parish, and about that time Cicely (K), 
second daughter of the third Sir John Pelham, espoused 
William Lunsford, Esq. This match fixes approximately the 
date of the erection of the tower. 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARR. 



223 




I avail myself of this opportunity to record an almost obso- 
lete tradition associated with this doorway. Not many years 
since, there was to be seen, near the top of the old oak door, 
what looked like the dint of a large gun or pistol bullet, and 
the story goes that it was caused by a shot fired by one of the 
Lunsfords of Whiligh at the Pelham, who, at the date of the 
event, resided at Halland, partly in this parish. Pelham was 
riding to church one Sunday morning in his carriage, when 
Lunsford, with whom he had had a quarrel, aimed the deadly 
weapon at him, without eflfect, however ; for the bullet, after 
passing through both panels of the coach, struck the church 
door and did no further mischief. The bullet itself remained 
for many years sticking in the wood, to attest the truth of the 
legend. 

This tradition, imsupported by documents, might be deemed 
worthy of little credit, but there are some letters in the Burrell 
collection which go far to establish its accuracy. The parties 
in question were Thomas Lunsford, Esq., of Whihgh, and Sir 
Thomas Pelham of Halland, the first baronet of his family, 
who died in 1624. It appears from the tenour of the first 
of the letters alluded to (which is too long for insertion here), 
that one Constable, a servant of Sir Thomas Pelham, used 
some opprobrious words of Lunsford ; whereupon the latter 
writes to Sir Thomas, calling upon him to chastise his 
dependant. He reminds him of the former intimacy of the two 
families, and of their alhance by blood, and demands such 
atonement as is due to a kinsman and a gentleman. A second 
letter relating to some sporting transactions in which Mr. 
Lunsford makes reference to injurious reports raised against 



224 THE BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 

him touching the "coneys and hares" of Sir Thomas, follows, 
and very strong language is employed. Whether the baronet 
took any measures to appease his kinsman is unknown, but it 
would appear that the correspondence was followed up by 
the murderous attempt alluded to in the tradition; for, in 
a letter from Francis Wamet, Esq., of Hempstead, to Sir 
Thomas Pelham, dated 10th December, 1621, he states that a 
writ of outlawry has been issued against Mr. Lunsford, and 
desires him (Sir Thomas) to let him know the yearly value of 
Whiligh, and that of the stock, begging, if he does not wish 
" to be anywayes seen in it " himself, that he will appoint 
Mr. Constable, or some other of his men, to make the neces- 
sary report. The result of the outlawry is not known, but the 
Lunsford pedigree states that the subject of it died in 1638, 
and was buried at Greenwich." Three of his sons entered 
the miUtary service, and were much distinguished in the Civil 
Wars, which soon after broke out. 

In the 17th century the Pelhams, then of Halland, built a 
chapel or pew on the north side of the church, and placed 
their favourite Buckle with the initials T. P. over the 
doorway. 

Thus much of the Pelham churches, in the hundred of 
Shiplake. The remainder of the ecclesiastical edifices deco- 
rated with this badge are principally situated in the rape 
of Hastings, of which the family have for several centuries 
been lords-paramount. Sir John de Pelham (D) had a grant of 
the manors of Crowhurst, Bevelham (Bibleham in Mayfield ?), 
and Burwash. In the first and third of these manors there 
are churches, each ornamented with the family ensign. 

Crowhurst church possesses Uttle to interest the antiquary, 
except its close proximity to the beautiful remains of the chapel 
of the old manor-house (which was built at a period long 
anterior to the acquisition of the estate by the Pelhams), and 
the tower of the building itself. Here, as in the cases already 
cited, the Buckle is introduced in the moulding of the door- 
case, and also — in an interesting and tasteful manner — ^in the 
tracery of the window above. The accompanying elevation 
will explain the arrangement. Nailed to the front of the 
gallery of this church is a Buckle in carved wood, which has 

^^ The three letters are printed in full in the Gentleman's Mag., March, 1837. 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARll. 



225 



apparently been preserved from the screen which once stood 
beneath the rood-loft. -' 




At Burwash church, which exhibits traces of various styles 
of architecture from the Norman downwards, the Buckle is 




introduced at the head of the mullion of a window of tw o lights 
at the east end of the south aisle. The font of this church is 
III. 15 



226 



BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 



also ornamented with Buckles carved upon some of the shields 
which occupy each face of its octagonal basin. Both the 




window and the font were probably presented to the church by 
the Pelhams soon after their acquisition of the manor. 

At Ashburnham church the Buckle is found in its usual 
situation on the moulding of the tower doorway. Its existence 
here is easily explained by the alliance between the families of 
Pelham and Ashburnham effected by the marriage of Joan 
Pelham (L) to William Ashburnham,. towards the close of the 
fifteenth century. 

The neighbouring church of Penhurst, though it does not 
exhibit the Buckle, has some evidences that the Pelhams were 
among its benefactors. The following account is from Sir 
William Burrell's description of the building written upwards 
of eighty years ago : 

" Of the painted glass in the chancel east window there remains now only, 
at the bottom of the middle light, an escutcheon turned upside down, charged, 
quarterly \, 8a: a mullet of six points arg ; 2 and 3 ermine; 4 ermines, ^^ At 
the top of the other two lights is a fine building in each. Above the said three 

^ The arms of Penhurst of Penhurst probably ; though their coat is generally blazoned, 
sa, a mullet arg. 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARR. 



227 



lights are four compartments. The most southerly is filled with an angel 
depicted, having his imder garment reaching to his heels white ; a robe, crimson 
fidnged with gold; wings of gold. On his breast and over his body an 
escutcheon with ar, three peHcanSy close, mining themselves, arg. for 
Pelham." 13 

At another church in the same 
vicinity, that of Dallington, the 
Buckle again occurs. On the para- 
pet of the tower are two shields, 
one charged with the arms of 
Pelham, the other with a cross, and 
flanked with two Buckles. Sir 
John Pelham (E) acquired a grant of 
the chase of DaUington, with which 
at his decease, 36th Hen. VI, he en- 
feoflfed Sir John, his eldest son. By 
one of these personages DaUington 
church, or at least this tower, was 
probably rebuilt. 

The Sir John Pelham last mentioned (G) married a Lewknor, 
and was a benefactor to the neighbouring church of Warbleton. 
In the north window of the chancel there are several shields, 
one of which is Pelham impaling Lewknor, and inscribed 





At Wartling church there is an interesting example of the 
badge. ^* A chapel has been added on the south side of the 

" Horsfield's Sussex, i,561. 

^^ Sir Nicholas Pelham, who died in 1559, held the manor of Cowden in this parish, 
and it is probable that his ancestors had previously possessed it. 



228 



BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 



nave. It has been much disfigured by reducing the height 
of the wall and thus cutting off the tracery of the windows. 
On the western end of this building is a shield, uncharged, but 
probably intended to receive the arms of Pelham. On the 
south wall is a Buckle, and on a buttress to the right a 
Catherine wheel, which marks the dedication of the chapel. 
The family pedigree presents us with the name of a Catherine 
Pelham (J) who married first a Bramshot, and secondly a 
Lewknor, about the close of the 15th century, and by this 
lady the chapel may have been erected in honour of her 
patron saint. 

Sir William Pelham (M), who was at the head of the family 
temp. Henry VIII, rebuilt the mansion of Laughton Place, in 
that reign. The existing farm-house, which comprises a 
portion of his work, is ornamented on the front and on some 
of the chimneys with Buckles. Inserted in the brickwork 
are several highly-glazed tiles, with a large Buckle and the 

initials W. P. stamped in relief. 
On the circumference of the 
Buckle is the legend, "lan de 

GRACE 1534 FVT CEST MAYSO 

FAiCTE." The badge is also 
introduced into some beau- 
tiful arabesque ornaments 
cast in brickwork in various 
parts of the interior of the 
house. This ornamental 
brickwork was doubtless 
made in the neighbourhood, 
and it may be commended to 
the notice of local lovers of 
medieval art as a beautiful 
and inexpensive species of 
decoration worthy of adoption 
in our ovm times. 
At Halland Place, the more recent family seat, situated on 
the boundary-line of the parishes of Laughton and Easthothly, 
the Buckle was much employed. That magnificent Eliza- 
bethan house, renowned for its hospitality in the days of 
Thomas Holies Pelham, Duke of Newcastle, was, after his 




(From Curiosities of Heraldry, p. 161.) 



PELHAM AND DE LA WARR. 229 

death, pulled down. A farm-house occupying a portion of 
the site was constructed with part of the materials. In the 
front wall is introduced a carved stone, bearing the date 1595, 
and a shield, party per pale ; dexter the Peacock, sinister the 
Buckle ; a singular and very incorrect mode of assembling the 
crest and badge, and probably the first instance of placing the 
Buckle upon a shield. A portion of the moulded bricks 
which originally formed the top of an enriched basement of the 
mansion has also been preserved. The ornament consists of 
erect and inverted Buckles alternately disposed, and the eflfect 
is extremely good. 

A few years later, when badges had ceased to be worn upon 
the habits of domestic servants, some members of the house 
of Pelham seem to have been desirous of retaining their 
Buckle, which might otherwise have fallen into disuse, by 
making it part and parcel of their arrm. In the pedigree 
drawn up at the Visitation of Sussex in 1634, two Buckles 
with a part of the belt attached are quartered as an 
"augmentation.'' This is the first instance of the formal 
recognition of the Buckle by the Heralds, for in the previous 
Visitation of temp. Elizabeth the pelicans only are entered. 
The addition of the belts was displeasing to one branch of the 
family. Among the Burrell MSS. is an original letter, 
written from London, 10th July 1620, by Sir Thomas Pelham 
to his " good cosen " Sir WiUiam Pelham, in which he says : 

" I have received your letter and the book which I sent you, because you did 
in a letter remember a chamber in Laughton House, wherein were those arms of 
intermariages of our house and with our house. I had don as you wish, had 
conferred with a skilfiill herald, but that I did so much dislike the altering, and 
buying and selling of arms for gayne, as you might see in the book. They 

have added to the buckle a part of the girdU which I did never see 

in all the seals of arms I have, or on any escutcheon. "^^ 

Sir Thomas was doubtless annoyed to find that the ancient 
badge of his house could only be introduced into his shield by 
a new grant, the expenses of which he himself, as the head of 
the family, would be called upon to defray. Sir Thomas, who 
was the first baronet of the family, died in 1624. His son 
and successor. Sir Thomas Pelham, seems to have entertained 
no similar dislike to the objectionable " girdles," for at the 

^^ Ex inf. W. Courthope, Esq., Rouge Croix. 



230 BADGES OF THE FAMILIES OF 

visitation of 1634, as above stated, the quartering, or " aug- 
mentation/* occurs as now borne, viz. ffidea, two demi-belts 
palewajfSy the buckles in chiefs arg. 

I have lying before me the cover of a letter directed " To 
the Right Honorable my singuler good Lord and brother the 
Lo. Conway, principall Secretary to his Ma"* etc. giue thease," 
and endorsed, " 6 Novemb. 1625, Sir William Pelham.'' The 
seal is a buckle of rather fantastic fashion, with the date 
"Dec. 22, 1596." Sir William was first cousin to Sir 
Thomas, and the same personage to whom he had addressed 
the letter above quoted a few years previously. The date so 
singularly engraved upon the seal is perhaps that of his own 
knighthood.*® 

In more recent times, this celebrated historical badge has 
been applied to a variety of humbler uses than the enrichment 
of architecture and the aggrandisement of arms. It has been 
adopted as the sign of a little inn at Bishopston, where the 
Duke of Newcastle had a seat ; as an embellishment to cast- 
iron chimney-backs in farm-houses ; as a mark for sheep ; and 
as an ornament to mile-stones ; and throughout that part of 
eastern Sussex, over which the beneficial influence of the family 
extends, there is no " household word" more familiar than the 
Pelham Buckle, 



Paucity of information will limit my remarks on the badge 
of the De la Warrs to a few words. 

The badge assigned to Sir Roger la Warr, for his share in 
the capture of the French monarch, is variously described in 
books of heraldry as the chape or crampet of a sword. It is 
intended to represent the metal termination of a scabbard, and 
is blazoned in Parker's * Glossary' as, A crampet or, the inside 
per pale y azure and gules, charged with the letter X of the first, 

I have met with but two examples of this badge. Figure 1 

w The cover belongs to a letter in the collection called the Conway Papers, edited by 
Mr. Crofton Croker, and was most obligingly presented to me by Lord Londesborough, 
K.C.H. and F.S.A. 



PBLHAM AND DE LA WARR. 



231 





is many times repeated upon the tomb of 

Thomas Lord la Warr, in Broadwater 

church. That personage died in 1526, 

and this magnificent tomb was erected 

not long subsequently. Another badge of 

the fanuly, the leopard's head, jessant de 

liSy accompanies the crampet.^^ Figure 2 
is found in Gerard Legh's 
' Accedens of Armorie ' 
(edit. 1562), where it is 
described as a Crampette ^^' ^'^ 

Or, geuen to his auncesters for taTcyng of the 
Frenche kynge injielde'' In this instance also 
it is accompanied by another badge, derived 
(Rg- 2.) £j.^jj^ ^YiQ Mortimers, viz. " a rose parted in 

pale, argent and geules." The text r, which does not occur 

in the Broadwater example, is introduced in Legh's. To its 

meaning I have discovered no clue ; and it may originally have 

been a mere ornament, which in the course of time assumed 

this shape. ^® 

^7 This badge is derived from the amis of the great family of Cantilupe, from whom the 
De la Warrs are descended by a maternal ancestor. 

^ The substance of the foregoing paper was read at the first Congress of the Archieo- 
logical Association, held at Canterbury, in 1844, and was printed in Mr. Dunkin's Report 
of that meeting. As the impression was limited to 150 copies, few of which found their 
way into this county, I have been requested to reproduce it among the papers of the 
Sussex Archaeological Society, with such additional particulars as have subsequently been 
met with. The illustrations have been engraved by Mr. Utting, from my own drawings, 
made on the spot. 



232 



CATALOGUE OF 

DRAWINGS RELATING TO SUSSEX. 

BY S. H. GRIMM, 
IN THE BO^LSIAN LIBSAKT. 

OOMMIWICATBD BT 

THE KEV. H. WELLESLEY, D.D. 

PmiKCIPAL OP NEW INN HALL, OZPOBD. 



It has been long known that the British Museum possesses 
a collection of drawings of churches, houses, &c. in Sussex, 
executed by S. H. Grimm for Sir W. Burrell, Bart. An 
account of these has been published in the ' Catalogue of 
the MSS. Maps, Drawings, &c. in the British Museum/ 
vol. ii, 8vo, 1844 ; but it is not perhaps so well known to 
Sussex antiquaries that there exists among Gough's Topo- 
graphical Collections, in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, another 
valuable and important series of Sussex views by the same 
hand, drawn in pen and Indian ink, in a clear, satisfactory 
style. Tlie size of the majority of them is ten or eleven by 
seven or eight inches, except the * South side of Boxgrave 
Priory Church,' the 'Arches at Slaugham,' and 'Pevensey 
Bay,' which are on wider shps, fifteen inches long. 

In the belief that a similar catalogue of these has not yet 
appeared, and may prove acceptable to the inquirer ij^to 
Sussex topography, the following list is presented, exhibiting 
the inscriptions in Grimm's handwriting, at the comer of each 
drawing. 

"Page 8. South view of Chichester Cathedsal. May 26th, 1782. 

South-east view of Chichester Cathedral. May 27th, 1782. 
P. 8, B. West end of Chichester Cathedral. May 26th, 1782. 

Inside of the Townhall at Chichester, Sussex. June 14th, 1781. 
P. 10, B. Outside of the Townhall at Chichester, Sussex, north side 
formerly the church of Friary, now Mr. Franklin's house. June 14th, 1781. 
Mrs. Franklin's House, near the townhall, at Chichester, Sussex. 
It was formerly a Friaiy, of which the townhall was the church. 
June 14th, 1781. 
East side of the West Gate at Chichester. May 24th, 1782. 
St. Mary's Hospital at Chichester, Sussex. June 16th, 1781. 
Apuldrum, near Chichester, formerly a fortified tower, belonging to the 
bishop, and still sun'ounded by a foss, now a farm. May 27th, 1782. 



DRAWINGS RELATING TO SUSSEX. 233 

P. 11, B. Lewes Castle, from Mr. Shelly'a inclosed down, Sussex. May 

26th, 1785. 
P. 19. Tlie Chapel of the Feiaey at Abundel, taken from the bridge. 
May 20th, 1780. 
Ruins of Aeundel College. May 20th, 1780. 
St. Maey's Gate, Abundel, with part of Pilgrims' Hall Wall. 

May 28th, 1780. 
Chuech and College (the latter now the steward's house), at Aeunbel, 
Sussex, taken from the battlements of the Castle keep. June 6th, 1781. 
P. 19, B. The Old Feiaey, near the bridge at Abundel, Sussex. May 
20th, 1780. 
The remains of Chalcedo, near Arundel, Sussex, formerly a cell to 
Arundel Priory, or rather a place of confinement for refractory monks. 
June 6th, 1781. 
P. 20. South view of Ambbely Castle, Sussex. May 17th, 1788. 

North view of Ambeely Castle and Chuech, Sussex. May 17th, 1788. 
Uppee or East Coubt of Ambeely Castle, Sussex, representing the 
north end of the great hall. The doorway next the tree on the right 
hand leads to the kitchen, which is seen on the outside of the north 
wall. July 17th, 1788. 
West Couet of Ambeely Castle, Sussex. May 17th, 1788. 
P. 20, B. South side of the Peioey Chuech of Boxgeave, near Chichester, 
Sussex, founded by Robert de Haya, in Henry the Pirst's time. It had a 
great benefactor in William d'Aubigny, Earl of Arundel, who married Adeliza, 
Dowager of Henry the First. Their heads are in the inside of the east window, 
in the extremities of the miter over the window. The old house, standing 
before the church on the right hand, was formerly the vicarage, but now in- 
habited by the sexton. The stone marked RXI stands on the top of an arched 
buttress, on the right hand, in the place marked N Z. June 7th, 1781. 
East view of the Eepectoey and north view of the Peioey Chuech 
of Boxgeove, near Chichester, Sussex. (The Eefectory is now a 
bam.) June 8th, 1787. 
P. 20. The Peioey Chuech of Boxgeove, and part of the Eefectory, Sussex. 
East view. May 23d, 1782. 
Section of the Refectoey of Boxgeove Peioey, near Chichester, 

Sussex, now a bam. June 8th, 1781. 
North-east view of an old Baen, formerly the Refectoey of Boxgeove 
Peioey, near Chichester, Sussex. June 8th, 1781. 
P. 24. The south end of the Hall in Battle Abbey, Sussex. June 14th, 
1783. 
Vault in the inside of the Gateway of Battle Abbey, Sussex. 

June 15th, 1783. 
The West Front of Battle Abbey, Sussex. June 15th, 1783. 
South end of the Refectoey of Battle Abbey, Sussex. June 1 8th, 
1783. 
P. 24, B. East end of the Gateway of Battle Abbey. June 16th, 1783. 
East view of Battle Abbey, in Sussex, with the Cloisters. June 18th, 

1783. 
East side of Battle Abbey Refectoey. June 18th, 1783. 
The Gate of Battle Abbey, Sussex. June 14th, 1783. 



284 CATALOGUE OF DRAWINGS 

P. 26. The Cellar under the Befectoiy at Battle Abbey, Sussex. June 
14th, 1783. 
Heads on the South Front and in the Souterrain of Battle Abbey. 

June 14th, 1783. 
Inside of the Refectoby of Battle Abbey, Sussex. June 15th, 1783. 
Bbamber Castle, from the windmill above Steyning, Sussex. May 
16th, 1788. 
P. 26, B. South-west view of Steynino Church, Sussex, June 4th, 1781. 
Whiston, in the neighbourhood of Steyning, Sussex, the seat of — Goring, 
Esq. This old family seat of the Gorings was originally as large again ; 
half of it was destroyed in the civil war of King Charles I. June 4th, 1781. 
West end of Whiston Church and South end of Whiston House, 
the old seat of the Gorings, near Steyning, in Sussex. June 4th, 1781. 
North-east view of the Church and Vicarage House at Steyning, 
Sussex, of which the latter is a part of an old nunnery. The nave of 
the church is Norman; the rest of different Gx)thic parts. June 5 th, 1 7 8 1 . 
P. 28. Pevensea Bay, from Hastings to the Sea-houses at Easeboum, with 
a view of Easeboum town, and the Sea-houses and Pevensea Castle, in a 
distance. May 23d, 1785. 
P. 28, B. North-east view of the Bridge and Church of Old Shoreham, 
Sussex. May 21st, 1782. 

South-west view of the Church of New Shoreham, Sussex. 

May 20th, 1782. 
North-east view of New Shoreham Church, in Sussex. May 20th, 1782. 
Pevensy Castle, from Warking Eoad, Sussex. June 22d, 1783. 
P. 29. Inside of Hastings Castle, Sussex. June 5th, 1784. 

Square Tower and Sallyport in the front of Hasting Castle, 

Sussex. June 5th, 1784. 
The EocKS of Hastings Castle, Sussex ; from the bathing-houses. 

June 6th, 1784. 
Hastings Castle, Sussex, from the road along the rocks west of the 
Ferry. June 5th, 1784. 
P. 29, B. Inner Court of Pevensea Castle, Sussex, with the north 
entrance Tower; taken from the Dimgeon Hill. June 22d, 1783. 

Inner Court of Pevensea Castle, Sussex, with the Dungeon Hill, 

taken from the north entrance. June 22d, 1783. 
Outside of the north entrance to the Inner Ballium of Pevensey 

Castle, Sussex. June 22d, 1783. 
West view of Pevensey Bay and the Sea-houses at Easeboum, Sussex. 
May 22d, 1785. 
P. 30. The Gateway of Arundel Castle. May 20th, 1780. 

The Keep and Gateway of Arundel Castle, from the Court. 

May 20th, 1780. 

View of the Court and Gate Tower of Arundel Castle, from the 

Steps at the entrance of the upper part of the Keep. June 6th, 1781. 

Bevis's Tower in the Precinct of Arundel Castle. May 20th, 1780. 

P. 32. South-west view of a part of the Abbey of Eotherbridgb, vulgarly 

called Eobertsbridge, in Sussex. The Ruin on the right is the Church, 

now a shapeless lump of rubbish, a farmer having burnt the stone facings 

and mouldings to lime. June 20th, 1783. 



RELATING TO SUSSEX. 235 

P. 32, B. North Front of the Inside and Gateway of Bodiham Castle, 
Sussex. June 1st, 1784. 
East view of the Internal Pabt of Bodiham Castle, Sussex. 

June 1st, 1784. 
Front of Bodiham Castle, Sussex, with the Gateway, seen through 

an outer gate or barbican. June 1st, 1784. 
Inside of Bodiham Castle Gate, Sussex. June 1st, 1784. 
P. 34. Inside of the Fkiaet Chapel at Winchelsea, Sussex. June 4th, 
1784. 
Fbiaky and Chapel at Winchelsea, Sussex, from the South side of 
Mrs. Luxford's Garden. 

(N. B. In this place the notorious Westons were hid, tiU their fate 
brought them to London. June 4th, 1784.) 
South side of Winchelsea Church, Sussex. June 4th, 1784. 
North view of the Landgate at Winchelsea, Sussex. June 4th, 1784. 
P. 34, B. South side of Winchelsea Landgate, Sussex. June 4th, 1784. 

Inside of the Landgate at Winchelsea, Sussex. June 4th, 1784. 
P. 36. Ipres Tower, now the Gaol at Eye, in Sussex. June 2d, 1784. 
The North-west or Landgate at Rye, in Sussex. June 2d, 1784. 
Rye, with a distant view of Winchelsea, Sussex. June 2d, 1784. 
Camperwell Castle, and a distant view of Rye, in Sussex, from the 
south side of Winchelsea road. June 4th, 1784. 
P. 36, B. The south or Strand Gate at Rye, in Sussex. June 2d, 1784. 
Brede Place, near Rye, in Sussex, formerly the mansion of the 

Oxenbrigge's, now inhabited by poor labourers. June 3d, 1784. 
South Entrance of Mayfield Hall, Sussex, 17 ft. 5 in. long, 13 ft. lin. 
wide, 11 ft. 9 in. high. June 11th, 1783. 
P. 37. South Front of Mayfield Palace, Sussex, 12 miles from Tunbridge 
WeUs. June 11th, 1783. 
North-east view of the Buttery and Staircase of Mayfield Palace, 

Sussex. June 10th, 1783. 
North-west view of the Palace and Hall at Mayfield, Sussex, called 
by some St. Dunstan's Palace ; formerly a Villa of the Archbishops of 
Canterbury. June 10th, 1783. 
East side of Mayfield Palace, Sussex. June 11th, 1783. 
P. 37, B. South side Ornaments and Doorways in Mayfield Hall, 
Sussex. June 11th, 1783. 
North side Ornaments in Mayfield Hall, Sussex. May 11th, 1783. 
View of Bayham Abbey, Sussex, from the West side of the Abbey 

Gate. June 12th, 1783. 
South view of Bayham Abbey, Sussex. June 12th, 1783. 
P. 39. The North Transept of Bayham Abbey Church, Sussex. June 
12th, 1783. 
The Inside of the East end of the Abbey Church at Bayham, Sussex. 

June 12th, 1783. 
Chapel in the south Aisle of Bayham Abbey Church, Sussex. June 

12th, 1783. 
Close on the south side of Bayham Abbey, Sussex. June 12th, 1783. 



236 CATALOGUE OF DRAWINGS 

P. 39, B. North View of the Rocks about Geeat-upon-Little, near 

WsLkehurst House, Sussex, in the parish of West Hoadley. May 14, 1780. 

Curious EoGK in Boarshead Street, near Tunbridge Wells, Sussex. 

May 17th, 1785. 
Bocks by Buxted, in Sussex, called the Vineyard, as there was formerly 
a plantation of vines, which throve well, being sheltered from the cold 
wmds and open to the meridian sun. May 28th, 1785. 

(N. B. The rock which makes the foreground is hollowed out for a 
habitation.) 
Outside of the Bock Habitation of the Vineyard Bocks, near 
Buxted, in Sussex. May 28th, 1785. 
P. 40. Great-upon-Little, near Wakehurst House, Sussex, in the parish of 
West Hoadley, three or four miles from East Grinstead. May 14th, 1780. 
Great-upon-Little, with some of the adjoining Bocks, near Wakehurst 

House, Sussex, in the parish of West Hoadley. May 14th, 1780. 
Part of the BocKs about Great-upon-Little, Sussex, in the parish of 
West Hoadley; south view. May 14th, 1780. 
P. 40, B. West side of the BocKS near Tunbridge Wells. June 8th, 1783. 
The Eridoe Bocks, in the neighbourhood of Tunbridge WeUs, Sussex. 

May 17th, 1785. 
South view of the Pen Bocks, in the neighbourhood of Tunbridge 

Wells, Sussex. May 15th, 1785. 
South-west view of the Pens Bocks, in the neighbourhood of Tunbridge 
WeUs, Sussex. May 15th, 1785. 
P. 41. South-west view of the Penns Bocks, near Tunbridge Wells, Sussex; 
taken from the road to the house. May 15 th, 1785. 

South side of the Bocks, near Tunbridge Wells, Sussex. June 8th, 

1783. 
North-east view of Penns Bocks, near Tunbridge Wells, Sussex. 
May 15th, 1785. 
P. 42, CissBURY (the Camp of Cissa), from the North-west side of the 
village of Findon, Sussex. May 16th, 1780. 
FiNDON Place, Sussex. May 16th, 1780. 

Church, House, and Bridge, at Trotton, in Sussex. May, 30th, 1782. 
P. 42, B. Entrance to Halnaker House, near Chichester, belonging to the 
Duke of Bichmond, whose parck of Goodwood it joins, but formerly a 
seat of the Lords Delaware. June 15 th, 1781. 

Inner Front of Halnaker House, near Chichester, Sussex, belong- 
ing to the Duke of Bichmond, but formerly one of the seats of the 
Lords Delaware; it is so ruined that it is even abandoned by the farmer, 
and only inhabited by a poor old French woman and her family ; she 
is one of the Duke's dependants from his French Duchy of Aubigny. 
It retains still some things of its ancient splendor. The Gothic 
windows on the right of the doorway belong to the hall, of which part 
of the gallery and (especially the east end), the carved wainscoat 
remains, with coats of arms of the noble families aUied to the 
Delawares, the royal arms of Harry VIII, ornaments suiting the 
taste of that period, and a door in each comer, leading to the cellar 
and buttery, with a Gt)thic Bacchus over it holding out cups, one has 
the inscription come in and drinky the other le% bien vemis, both in the ^ 



KELATING TO SUSSEX. 237 

German taste ; there is a full-length picture of Sir — Morley, in the 
habit of the Order of the Bath, with his Squire. The building on the 
right hand, with high chimnies and a window and gate at the end 
of it, contains a long painted gallery full of the coats of arms of the 
Delawares, &c. The uttermost bnfiding to the left, with the broad, 
low, bow windows, contains a large kitchen and chimney, emblems 
of the old hospitality. This building is gradually demolishing to 
furnish materials for barns and stables. 

View of WoLSEMBUEY Hill, from Herst Churchyard, Sussex. May 
15th, 1780. 
P. 43. Outside of the Gateway of Michelham Peioey, Sussex. June 10th, 
1784. 

North side of Michelham Peioey, Sussex. June 10th, 1784. 

Gateway and south-west front of Michelham Peioey, Sussex. 
June 10th, 1784. 

North-west View of Michelham Peioey, Sussex. June 10th, 1784. 
P. 56. Plan and Elevation of Veedly Castle, near Midhurst Sussex. 

Inside of the EuiN of Veedly Castle, near Cowdry in Sussex. May 
31st, 1782. 

Outside of the KuiNS of Veedly Castle situated in a beechwood in a 
deep vale belonging to Lord Viscount Montague, 4 miles from Cowdry 
in Sussex. There is no mention made of it by any author, tradition 
reports that it was destroyed in the time of the Danes. It is only 
known to such as hunt the Martin cat. May 31st, 1782. 

Shelbeed Peioey near Midhurst, Sussex, now a farm belonging to 
Lord Viscount Montague of Cowdry. May 26th, 1790. 

P. 56, B. The Paesonage House at Teeeing in Sussex, consisting of the 
remains of a Chapel erected by Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
June 5th, 1781. 
Beoadwatee Chuech, Sussex. May 16th, 1780. 
Knep Castle in the Eape of Bramber, Sussex. North-east view. June 
3d, 1789. 
P. 57. PoYNiNG in the Sussex Downs, with a ruin of the seat of the Lords 
Goring. May 15th, 1780. Behind the hill to the left is the Devil's ditch, 
an old extensive camp. 

South Front of Wilmington Peioey, Sussex. June 23d, 1783. 
West Front of Wilmington Peioey, Sussex. June 13th, 1783. 
South Front of Easeboen Peioey, Sussex, taken from the South comer 
of the garden. May 23d, 1780. 
P. 57, B. Wakehuest House, Sussex. May 14th, 1780; built in Edward 
Sixth's time. 

CucKFiELD in Sussex. May 15th, 1780. 
Hallend in Sussex, east front. June 25th, 1783. 
The Peioey of Haedham, alias Farringham, origmaUy Hauteraye in 
Sussex, founded in the time of Henry II, now a farm. May 21st, 1780. 



238 DRAWINGS RELATING TO SUSSEX. 

P. 58. BocTON House, Sussex. May 25ih, 1782. 

The House of Lord Eokemont, at Petwortli, in Sussex. On this spot 
stood fonnerly the old family seat of the Percys, Earls of Northum- 
berland. May 22d« 1780. 
Boseham, in Sussex. May 26th, 1782. 

South-east View of the Ancient House of the Earls of Arundel, 
at Stansted, Sussex, now converted into stables. May 25th, 1782. 
P. 58, B. Arches in the North Front at Slauoham, Sussex. May 
3l8t, 1787. 

General View of the BuiNS of Slauoham House, Sussex.. May 

Slst, 1787. 
West Front of Hallend, in Sussex, one of the houses of the Pdhams ; 
it was sometimes inhabited by the late Duke of Newcastle, now by a 
farmer, and going fast to ruin. June 24th, 1783. 
P. 59. The Nunnery at Rusper, near Horsham, Sussex. June 2d, 1781. 
South-west view of Climfino Church, Sussex. May 22d, 1782." 





SUSSEX 


: TILES. 








n. 

IV. 
VI. 


1 

III 'l 

V. 1 


^^^^^^^T * ^^^^^^H 




^^M 1 H^^^^^*^4 


SB 


9^ 






I. 

II. Boxgrove. 
m. Horsted Keynes. 


IV. Horated Keynes. 
V. Chichester. 
VI. Poynings. 



SUSSEX TILES. 



III. 




VI. 



I. Rustmgton. IV. Lewes Priory, Poynings, Horsted Keynes, 

n. Lewes Priory,Poynings, Horsted Keynes. V. Do. Do. Do. 

III. Do. Do. Do. VI. Do. Do. Do. 



239 



SUSSEX TILES. 

BY ME. WILLIAM FIGG. 

WITH TWO ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The remains of pavements formed of decorative tiles 
have of late attracted much attention among archaeologists, 
both as regards their use in our churches, and in the domestic 
edifices of our ancestors. The investigations concerning this 
branch of ornamental decoration have been made with so 
much care and attention, that it would be superfluous to 
make any general observations upon the subject in this place, 
as they have been illustrated in the Journal of the Archaeologi- 
cal Institute, the Journal of the Archaeological Association, 
the Examples of Decorative Tiles, by J. G. Nichols, E.S.A., 
the Gentleman's Magazine, and other pubUcations. 

Great varieties of examples have been found in Great Britain 
and in Ireland, of almost endless design, and of various dimen- 
sions. Sussex furnishes its share of these curious reUcs of 
mediaeval art, and interesting examples have been found at 
Lewes Priory, Horsted Keynes, Etchingham, Poynings, 
Chichester Cathedral, Boxgrove, Rustington, &c. &c. &c.; 
they consist of armorial bearings and ornamental designs in 
considerable variety. 

It has been my object in the accompanying illustrations, to 
place before the Sussex Archaeological Society, some of the 
most interesting examples from diflFerent parts of the county. 



240 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTICES 

OF THE 

IRON. WORKS OF THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX. 
BY ME. MAEK ANTONY LOWER. 



Since the publication of Vol. II of the Sussex Archdeological 
Collections, I have met with several interesting illustrations 
of the history of the once important Manufacture of Iron in 
Sussex, which seem equally deserving, with the facts recorded 
in my previous memoir, of preservation in the publication of 
this Society. 

To our valuable member, W. D. Cooper, Esq., F.S.A., I am 
indebted for the following highly important notices, dis- 
covered by him in that extensive repertory of historical 
documents, the State-Paper Office. 

In 1573 (No. 96), there is a declaration by Christopher 
Barker, to the council, of the great consumption of oaken 
wood in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, by the iron-mills and 
furnaces. 

In January 1574 (No. 15), there is a petition from Ralphe 
Hogge, ** manufacturer of guQs and shot for the Ordnance 
Office," to the council, complaining of the infringement of 
the patent granted him by the queen, for the sole exportation 
of ordnance ; whereupon a return was procured on Feb. 15th 
following (No. 18), giving a list of the owners of iron-works 
in the three coimties. The chief men were summoned before 
the council, and from the others bonds were taken, under a 
penalty of £2000, not to found or sell ordnance without 
Ucense from the queen. The list alluded to (so far as relates 
to Sussex) is as follows : the remarks within brackets I have 
added for the sake of illustration. 



IRON-WORKS OF SUSSEX. 241 

'* Stephen Collyns, 1 fordg, in Lamberherse. 
The Lord Montague, \fordg, inffraMnt(¥mni), in the hands 
of John Porter, 

[Sir Anthony Browne, first Viscount Montagu, was of Cowdray and Battel Abbey. 
John Porter, a cadet of the family of that name, at Bayham, resided, temp. Eliz., 
at Lamberhurst. He built Court Lodge, in that parish.] 

„ Breechers (?), \fordg, inffraunt, in the hands of Mr, 

Wyherne and Mr, Leeche, 
The Lord Abergavenny, 1 fordg, 1 furnace, in Waterdowne 

{forest), 

John Barham, ijfordgs, inffraunt, in other mens hands, 
Nicholas ffowle, ifordg, \ furnace, in Wadeherst, 
Arthur Milton, i furnace, in Netherfeld (Battel). 
Wm, ,, i furnace, in Netherfeld. 

„ ffanner, i furnace, in „ 

Sir Thomas Gresham, i furnace, in Mayfelde, 

[The celebrated founder of the Royal Exchange; possessor of Mayfidd Palace.] 

„ Isted, ifordg, in Mayfelde. 

[Probably Richard Isted of Morehouse, in Mayfidd.] 

Sir John Pelham, ij fordgs, i furnace, in Dalington, Hethe- 
feld, Wcddron, and Brightling, in other mens hands, 

[The last three were subsequently, and until a comparatiydy recent date, worked 
by the family of Fuller.] 

Sir Richard Baker, i furnace, in Dallington. 

Sir ry chard Baker, ij fordgs, ij furnaces, in Heathfelde and 
Warbleton, 

/S"* Robert Tirwett, ifordge, 1 furnace, in Echingham, in the 
handes of Glede. 

[The Tyrwhitts of Kettleby, co. Lincoln, hdd Etchingham and Salehurst, as repre- 
sentatives of the Echynghams, at this period.] 

S"^ Henry Sydneye, ifordg, i furnace, in Bobertsbrydge, 

[Ancestor of the Earls of Leicester, and proprietor of the abbey of Robertsbridge.] 

„ Bugsell (?), ifordg, in Salehurst, 
Mr, Fynche, ifordge, in Netherfelde, or thereaboute, 

[Ancestor of the Earls of Winchelsea. The family were, for a long period, owners 
of Netherfield, in Battd, and anciently resided there.] 

Mr, Ashburnham, ij fordgs, \ furnace, in Ashburnham, 
The Lord Dacres, i fordg, 1 furnace, in Buckholt, in the 
handes of Jeffreys. 

[Lord Dacre, of Herstmonceux Castle. Buckholt is in the parish of BexhiU. — 

III. 16 



242 IRON-WORKS OF 

Bartholoinew Jefferay, the powm lefioned to as taumt, was a member of the 
eminent fiunily of this name at Chid^ngly, being nephew to Sir John Jefferay, 
Chief Baron of the Exchequer. His wiB, dated 8 Dec, 17th Eliz., directs that 
Thomas Aulfrey ** have the vse and gou'nance of hiB^or70,.^WiiaM, and woodet 
for five years, for the payment of Us debts." — Lewes R^listry of Wills.] 

Nynyan BurweU^ i furnace. 

[A derical error for Bw rr dI of Cuckiield.] 

Ralphs Hogge^ i furnace [at Buxted]. 
The Lord of Buckherat, i fordg^ in ffietchyng^ in the hands 
of Mr. Leech. 

[Richard Leche, Esq., whose costly monument exists in Fletching church. He 
died in 1596, m he'* was coming out of the office of high sherief of the conntys 
of Sussex and Surre."] 

Tlie Lord of Buckherat^ i fordg^ in Ashefelde^ in the hands 
of Mr. Belf 

Anthony Morley, ifordg, i furnace^ in Freshjield and Horsted 

[Keynes?]. 

[A. Moriey of Glynde. fteshileld is on the Ouse, near Retching.] 

Mr. Barringhton^ i fordg^ 1 furnace, in Herste [Horsted] 



Mr. ChaUoner, \fordg, in Ardinglye. 
Mr. ChaUon\ and Mr. Covert, i forge, i furnace, in 8langham. 
Mr. MigheU, i furnace, in Hoadlee [Hothly]. 
„ Beynoldes, i furnace, in Mylplace. 
„ Payne and BufjUd, ifordg, i furnace, in pE.] Grynsted. 
The Lord of Buckherst, i fordge, i furnace, in Parrock, in 
the hands of George BuUen. 

The Quenes Mcf^, 1 fordg, 1 fumade, in Ashedovme [forest], 
in the hands of Henry Bowyer. 

[Ashdown forest was in the hands of the Crown.] 

Robert Whitfelde, ifordge, in Rowfraunte. 

[Rowftnt, in the parish of Worth. Robert Whitfeld, Esq., who had a seat there, 
WM a collateral ancestor of Thomas Whitfeld, Esq., of Lewes.] 

Henry Boyer, ifordge, in Tynsley. 

[Probably Henry Bowyer, of Cuckfleld, son of John B., of Hartfi^d. Tvi. Sussex, 
1634.] 

Henry Boyer, i furnace, in Moore forrest. [Qy. ip Petworth.] 
m, lord Abirgaven, ( V ^*'' } ^^- ,'» 

Mr. John Gage, i fordg, i furnace, ahout Copthorn andLyng^ 
felde, in the hands of Thorp. 

[In Surrey. The Thorpe family resided, however, at CUbsayeu, in the parish of 
Worth.] 



THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX. 243 

The Q;uene% Ma^.^ Yfordge^ in St Zeanardea (forest), in the 
hands of Roger Gratuoych. 

Roger Gratwycky 1 furnace, in Ifelde (Ifield). 

[\y. G. K. Gratwicke, Esq., is descended, in the seventh generation, from the 
iron-master here indicated, who, in 1570, resided at Ham. — Berry's Suss. Gen. 
p. 169.] 

The late Earle of Northumberland, i fordg, i furnace, in 
Petworth Great Park, in the hands of Mr. Blackweli. 

[Tide Vol. II, p. 215.] 

Thomas Smyth, of Petworth, ifordg, 1 furnace, in Shillinglee, 
Thomas Gratvyyck, ifordg, in Donsfolde [Surrey]. 
The Lord Mountame, i fordge, i furnace, in HaseUmore, or 
thereabout. [Surrey.] 

Thomas Worge, i furnace, in Bchingham. 
Bartholomew Jeffrey, i fordge, i furnace, in Buckholde. 

[Vide p. 242, ante.] 

Then follow 3 " fordges" and 1 furnace, in Surrey -, and 
next, 

Byvers fordgs and furnaces, in Burwashe, of Collyns, Mayes^ 
and others. 

Byvers fordgs and furnasses, in Battayle, of Wykes, Jeffreys, 
and others. 

[All gentry families.] 

Byvers fordgs and furnaces in Marshfield, Bticksted, Franch- 
felde, and Uckfelde. 

[Maresfield, Buxted, Framfield, Uckfidd.] 

Byvers fordgs and furnaces in Hartfelde and Wythyham. 

Bonds were taken from 
WiUiam Walpole, of Mtlehursfe (with his arms on seal). 
Robert Raynolds, of East Grenestede. 
John Fatdkner, of Wcddern. 

Thomas Gratmck, ofSherfold (Shemfold?) (with his mark). 
Roger Gratwyk, of Sudlington. 
Thomxis Isted, of May f eld. 
Thomas Glide, of Burwashe. 
John Bversfeld, of Moore, gent. 
Stephen Colleyns, of Lamberhurst. 

Nicholas Fowle, of Mavill {Mayfield), " for fumes and forge 
in Wadhurst.'' 



244 IRON-WORKS OF 

Robert Hodson (Hodgson), of Franckfeld, 

[Poondsley fornaoe, in Framfidd.] 

Arthur MyddLeton^ of Betherfeld (Rotherfield), for furnaces 
called Huggens and Maynard's Gate. 

John Palor (?), of Betherfelde^ for Howbome forge. 

[Hofwbounie, in Boxted.] 

John Carpenter^ of Fraunte, called Bunklaw. 

JFUliam Relf of WarbletoHy for a forge at Crowhurst. 

Thomas May^ of Winchelsey, for a " fumes" at Echingham. 

John StacCy of Ashurst, 

John Thorpe y of East Grenstede. 

John Duffoldy of East Grenestede. 

Robert Whiifylde, of Worth. 

George Bulleyn^ of Hartefeild (seal with his arms). 

[Prob«bly of tlie Herer Castle fiumHy, and oonseqaently a relatiye of the Queen.] 

Nicholas Pope, of Buckstede^ for a furnace at Hendall. 
Tliomas Colleyns, of Brightlinge^ " Stockens (Socknersh) 
furnace." 

Alexander Femier, of Rotherfeldy a furnace called Hamsell. 

Nynion ChcdloneTy of Cohefeld, 

George Maye, of Burwashe, a forge called Budgell. 

John Baker y of BattelL 

Thomas Hay e, of Hastings, Netherfelde fumes (in Battel). 

John Gardener y of Asheburnham, 

[He was of Kitchingham, in that parish.] 

Tliomas Ellis y of Biblesam (Bibleham, in Mayfield). 
Robert Woddayy or Woody y of Frant, Benehall forge. 
Bartholomew Jeffrayy ofBoksell (Bexhill). 
Sir Thomas Greshamy Knt. (of Mayfield). 

In another paper of the same date (No. 56), there is a list 
of persons summoned to the council, and of furnaces ; and the 
following additional names are given : 

John Ashebomhamy of Ashebomham, for a furnace called 
PannyngeSy a fiunace in Asheburnhamy a forge at the same 
place, and a forge in Penhurst, 

[Pannynges is doubtless identical with Pannyngridge. Vol. 11, p. 185.] 

Sir Alexander Culpepery Knty " lyving at my lord Montagues 
house." 



THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX. 



245 



Michael Blackwell, a furnace at NorthchapeL 
John Blackety a furnace at Hodley (West Hothly). 
Bohert Beynold, a forge at Brambletynne (Brambletye). 
Anthony Morley, a furnace called Horsted Keynes, 

[The site still belongs to his descendant, the Hon. Gen. Trevor.] 

John Faukener, a forge in , and a forge in Marsfelde, 

John Frenche^ a forge at Chiddinyly. 
Thomas StoUyan^ " a fumes called Waldernhxnese/' Priory 
furnes {Warbleton)^ Brightling forge, and Warbleton forge. 

[He was of Warbleton.] 

John CollynSy " a forge in Burwashey called the Neither 
forge." 1 

Simon Colman, " a fumes called Batteforde fumes." 

[Batsford, in Warbleton ?] 

Bichard Wicke, " a fumes called Neitherfeld fumes, and a 
forge in Mundfelde' (Mountfield). 

Sir John Baker ^ Knt.y a furnace and a forge in Withiham, 

These documents supply us with the following sites of iron- 
works, in addition to those comprised in my topographical 
summary in Vol. II ; namely, Etchingham, BexhiU, Uckfield, 
Hartfield, Mountfield, Brambletye, &c. 

They also furnish the following additional names of famiUes 
who were either iron-masters or proprietors of iron-works. 



Abergavenny (Lord). 


Eermor. 


PeUiam. 


Barrington. 


Eanner. 


Payne. 


BuUen. 


Gresham. 


Porter. 


Buckhurst (Lord). 


Gage. 


Baynolds, 


Bowyer. 


Gratwick. 


Eelfe. 


Blacket. 


GHde. 


Smyth. 


Challoner. 


Gardener. 


Stace. 


Carpenter. 


Hay. 


Surrey (Earl). 


Culpeper. 


Isted. 


StoUyon. 


Colman. 


Jefferay. 


Tyrwhitt. 


Dacre (Lord). 


Leche. 


Whitfdd. 


Derby (Earl). 


May. 


Wykes. 


Duffield. 


Montague (Lord). 


Walpole. 


Eversfield. 


Myddleton. 


Wybem. 


EUis. 


Mawge. 


Wodday. 


Einch. 


MigheU. 




Faulkner. 


Northumberland (Earl). 





1 In my former paper on the Sussex Iron-works (Sussex Arch, CoU, Vol. II, p. 178), is 
given a representation of the curious cast-iron monument of Jhone Colins, in Burwash 
church. From this it would seem that the Collinses of that place carried on the trade for 
a long period. The Collinses of Brightling and Lamberhurst were probably descended 
from them. 



246 IRON-WORKS OF 

From a return of royal mills, made in 1608, it appears that 
the crown was, at that date, in possession of the iron-works in 
St. Leonard's Forest : 

" Parcell possessionu nuper 
Dacis Norff. excambiat, 
Molendm fenr cu^ flKnna molendm fen* et funiac' vulgariter nuncapat. 
pin in fforest Sd. > the Iron mpU and forge of 8L Leonards, ibm p. ami. 
Leonard!. ) xxxiqI^ xiy! iig^ " • 

These were among the works destroyed during the civil 
wars, by Sir William Waller. 

The following notices of iron-works occur in the deeds of 
Battel Abbey, purchased of the late Sir Godfrey Webster, 
Bart., and now in the possession of Sir Thos. Phillipps, of 
Middle Hill, Bart. 

1724. Bichard Hay, of Battel, Esq., leased for nine years, to Jobn, Lord 
Ashburnliam, and Sir Tbos. Webster, Bart., Beach furnace, in Battel. A 
deed of sale, dated in the same year, conveys to Lord A. and Sir T. W., 
" certain furnace-bellows and other implements at Beach furnace." 

1731. Eichard Hay, Esq., leased the above furnace to Sir Thos. Webster, 
for the term of his own life. 

1733. Elizabeth Eobinson Lytton, of Knebworth, co. Hertford, widow, 
leased, for seven years, to Sir Thomas Webster, her iron-forge, mill, &c., at 
Etchingkam, 

1734. Sir Thos. Webster leased, for five years, to Messrs. Harrison, Jukes, 
and Co., RoberUbridge inmace. 

1746. Sir Thomas Webster leased to Wm, and Geo. Jukes, of London, 
ironmongers, Robertsbridge fiimace. 

1756. Sir Whistler Webster, Bart., leased certain lands and iron-quarries 
at Eobertsbridge, to Edward Sackford, husbandman. 

The following transaction is interesting, as showing that 
less thaa a century since a Staffordshire iron-master could 
profitably engage in the iron-works of Sussex. The iron 
wrought in this county with charcoal would probably be of 
essential service for mixing with the pit-coal iron of the 
lessee's home manufacture. 

1754. Sir Whistler Webster, Bart., leased "to John Churchill, of Hints, 
CO. Stafford, ironmaster, the foundry called Bx)bertsbridge furnace, with all 
buildings, lands, ponds, and water, ever held with the same." 

1768. Sir W. Webster leased the above works to William Polhill, of 
Hastings, David Guy, of Eye, and James Bourne, of Salehurst, ironmasters. 



3 Lansd. MS. 165, p. 12. 



THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX. 247 

The following statistics are drawn from the article " Iron/* 
in the last edition of the Encyclopadia Britcmnica, 

In consequence of the falling off in the supply of charcoal, 
resulting from the increased scarcity of wood, the iron trade 
greatly diminished in England in the first half of the eighteenth 
century, so that the amount of iron made, which had formerly 
reached 180,000 tons per annum, was, in 1740, reduced to 
rather less than one tenth of that quantity. 

At that date]^^(1740) there were — 

Furnaces in England ... 59 I Tons of Iron made . . . 17,350. 
yy in Sussex ..... 10 | ,, „ ... 1,400. 

With the exception of Gloucestershire, Salop, and Cheshire, 
Sussex occupied the chief place. The furnaces of Sussex were, 
at that date, of less magnitude than those of some other 
districts; as Gloucestershire, for example, with only six 
furnaces, produced 2850 tons annually, whUe this county, with 
ten furnaces, wrought only 1400 tons. 

Again, according to parliamentary documents, in the year 
1788, there were wrought, by charcoal fuely — 

Funiaces in EngLand ... 24 i Tons of iron made . . . 13,100. 
„ in Sussex .... 2 | „ „ ... 300. 

By coke, — 

Furnaces in Eng^d ... 53 I Tons of iron made . . . 48,200. 
„ in Sussex . . . None | „ „ . . . None, 

It may be interesting to add, that in the interval between 
1740 and 1788, the average increase of iron made in England 
amounted to 50,950 tons. 

In 1796 there were — 

Furnaces in England . . 104 i Tons of iron made . . 108,793. 
„ in Sussex ... 1 „ „ . . ' 173. 



In addition to what was said of the Roman iron- works in 
England, at p. 175 of Yol. II of the CoUectionSy I take this 
opportunity of stating a few facts. 

The greatest iron-works carried on by the Conquerors of 
the World in this country, were in the county of Gloucester. 
So extensive were these works, and so imperfect the smelting 



248 iRON-woRxa op sussex. 

practised by the Romans, that in the 16th and following cen- 
turies the iron-masters, instead of digging for ore, resorted to 
the beds of scoriae for their principal supply of the metal.^ 

In the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford are several relics of 
the manufacture, discovered in Oxfordshire, and described as 
follows : — " Two pieces of slag, supposed to be from a Boman 
smelting work, found, with pieces of Roman pottery and 
coins, at Drunshill, near Woodeaton. The ore was probably 
brought from the top of Shotover Hill. Found Feb. 1841, 
and presented by Mr.Hussey, of Christ Church." On receiving 
this mformation from the Rev. Edward Turner, who had been 
struck with the analogy between this discovery and that which 
he had himself made at Maresfield, I had the honour of pre- 
senting to the Ashmolean Society some specimens of the 
cinders, pottery, and coins found in a like juxtaposition in 
Sussex, and these now occupy a corresponding place in the 
museum of that learned body. 

' Vide Encyc. Brilan. in voe, ** Iron." 



MANORIAL CUSTOMS 

OF 

SOUTHESE-WITH-HEIGHTON, NEAR LEWES. 

BY ME. WILLIAM FIGG. 

(read at the BRIGHTON MEETING, 6 DECEMBER 1849.) 



" And as every of the lords at the beginimig were contented to grant divers parcels of 
their manors to sundry gentlemen and others, to hold of them, freely, by sundry kinds of 
suits and services, and payment of certain free rents yearly, so was their policy also to 
have others to travaQ and till the earth, and to use the trade of husbandry for the 
increase of com to serve their own necessity, and to be ministers also to the common- 
wealth ; and to these kind of people they granted their lands for term of life .and Uves, 
reserving certain rents, suit of court, fines, heriots, and such other services as hereafter 
shall appear. And if the lord were inhabiting upon the manor, he also bound them to do 
custom works, which they call due days, as in time of tillage, hay-time, and harvest, 
according to the rate and quantity of their tenements and farms." — Survey of the Estates 
of the Earldom of Devon, 1548. See Nichols's Topographer and Genealogist, tom. i, p. 44. 



Among the matters of archaeological interest connected 
with Sussex, which have not yet found a place in the Society's 
Collections, are many feudal customs and services by which 
lands were formerly held under various Lords of Manors. 
During the lapse of years, many of these have either become 
obsolete, or have been compounded for by a money payment ; 
and the very fact of their having ever existed has, in many 
instances, been long forgotten. 

It is with a view of bringing this subject before the Society, 
and of inciting many members of more abihty, and with better 
opportunities of research, than myself, that I am induced to 
contribute the following specimens of the customs of Southese- 
with-Heighton, in order to open a fresh source of archaeolo- 
gical inquiry of considerable extent, which, although not of 
the first importance, may, if carefully pursued, bring to light 
much curious matter in illustration of the manners of our 
forefathers. 

III. 17 



250 MANORIAL CUSTOMS OP 

SOUTHESE-WITH-HEIGHTON. 

The earliest existing court-book of this manor commences 
the 13th of October, 1623, about which period it appears to 
have become the property of Sir Thomas Springett, of Broyle 
Place, in the parish of Ringmer, the foUowiag being the first 
entry: 

'* SouTHEESE Curia prima Thome Springett militis ibidem tenta die Lune, yiz. 
cum decimo tercio die Octobris, amio regni Domini nostri Eegis 

Hatton. Jacobi, Anglie firancie et Hibernie vicesimo primo, et Scotie 

Ivy' 1623. Per Johem Bowel Gen*» ibidem." 

Then follows a list of the homage, viz. 13 for Southese, 
and 4 for Hayton, and this note : 

"Quilibet tenendum predictorum tam de Southeese quam de Hayton 
Attorn' se Domino per soiutionem unius denarii argenti et ad banc curiam 
fecerunt fidelitatem. ' 

Various applications by the tenants of the manor, for 
licenses to let their lands, are next recorded, and a memo- 
randum that the tenants of Telscombe manor have, from time 
to time immemorial, made certain ditches in Southese brooks. 

The custom relative to the care and education of children 
of the tenants of this manor, holding in fee simple, according 
to the custom, during the widowhood of the wife, " tamdiu 
sola et casta vixerit ;" and farther, in case she shall marry 
again, follows. And, lastly, 

" Et quod infra Manorium predictum talis habetur, et a tempore cujus 
oontrariimi hominum memoria non existit babebatur, consuetudo usitata, et 
per tenentes hujus Manorii Domino ejusdem Manorii vel firmario suo terrarum 
Dominicalium quolibet anno facta, prout sequitur in bis Anglicanis verbis." 

" The Cmtomary Services yearehf to be done by the Cmtomary Tenants of Southeese, 
unto the Lord of the saide Manor, viz. 

1. ffirst, every tenant that is seised or possessed of two yarde landes, must 
for the same finde one ordinary court (cart), with cattell to carrye out dounge 
from the lordes farme, the next daye after Michaelmas day, if it be not Sonday ; 
if so, then the next day alter, accordinge to the customary tune of a dayes 
worke. 

2. Every tenant of one yarde lande is the same day to finde one filler to 
fill the court pott full w*]" dounge. 

* See Sussejc CoUectionSf Vol. I, p. 2. 



SOUTHESE-WITH-HEIGHTON. 251 

3. Every tenant of one yarde lande & an halfe is to finde one yeare a court, 
furnished w*** cattell, and the next yeare a filler. 

4. Every tenant of a yarde lande must plowe halfe an acre of lande, viz. 
one roode of wheate, & one roode of barlye yearely, and to harrowe the same, 
two teyne for wheate, and three teyne for barlye. 

5. Every tenant of a yard lande must yearely finde a reaper for two dayes, 
the one in one weeke, and the other in the next weeke followinge (friday and 
Satterday to be none of the dayes). 

6. Every tenant for every yarde lande must carry for the lord or his farmer, 
two cariages of come, after they have performed their service of reapinge, the 
one of wheate, two sheafe high above the lades, the other of barly, two rearinge 
high, the next weeke (friday and satterday excepted). 

M*- The two yarde landes, sometime Waterman's, are exempted from the 
service aforesaide, as also from receavinge ought from the lorde of the rewardes 
here after mencioned to be due to the other tenants. 

The Salarye or Reward from the Lord to the Tenants w asfolloweth, viz. 

1. ffirst, every tenant and servant that either carrieth or fiHeth dounge as 
aforesaide, must have allowed him bread, cheese, and drinke, good and suf- 
ficient in quantitye for a labouringe man all the daye, & at the end of the daye 
his dinner, at the cost and charges of the lorde or his farmer. 

2. Every plowholder, driver and harrower, must have a good & sufficient 
dinner, as the time & season shall require, at the cost of the lord or his farmer. 

3. The lord or his farmer must allowe and paye to every tenant, yearely, 
for every yarde lande, the first Sonday in Lent, sixe good herringes and one 
loafe and an halfe of bread, made of good wheate, ech loafe being of the weight 
& size of two poundes & one ounce. 

4. Every reaper must have allowech him, at the cost of the lord or his 
farmer, one drinkinge in the mominge of bread and cheese, and a dinner at 
noone, cqnsistinge of rostmeate and other good victualls, meete for men and 
women in harvest time ; and two drinkinges in the after-noone, one in the 
middiest of their aftemoone's worke, and the other at thende of their day 
work, & drinke alwayes duringe their work as neede shall require. 

5. Every tenant,, for the tiuLC of his caryinge of come as aforesaid, must 
have allowed him, by the lord or his farmer, good drinke, bread & cheese, 
to stand alwayes readye in the bame, to refresh them in their labours. 

a V . . . ,. . 1 C Dn** Comiti, xl». 

Summa huius cune, ixfo. ^. unde | ^^^ ^^^^o, vijZi. yij». 

M^ , that all the tenants of this manor of Southeese, as copiholders, and 
their lines, ar arbitrable at the lorde's will, and their best beast, is due for an 
herriott, both uppon death and smTcnder for every of their severall copiholdes, 
except Martin's Cottage ; w*:^ payeth y]d. fine and y}d. herriott de certo. This 
is ment of such as have estates of inheritance ; for tenant for life payeth 
no herriott. 

M* also, that there is within this manor neither reeve nor bedle by customs, 
but the lord appointeth a bayHffe to collect the rents and profitts of court. 



252 MANORIAL CUSTOMS. 



At a Court, held October 1, 1624, is the following entry : 

The Cudomary Services by the Homagers of HayUm^ at this Court, p'sewted hy 
tkem jfeareUf to be done unto the Lord of thU Manour, or kU farmer, as 
foUowetky viz, 

1. ImprimiB, eTeiy owner or possessor of one yarde lande (and so for more 
or lesse accordhige to that proportion) within the parish of Hayton, is to finde 
or allowe one good and sufficient reaper, man or woman, two dayes in eveiy 
ycare, the one in one weeke, the other in another weeke, to reape the come 
that shall growe on the demesnes of the manor of Southeese (friday and 
Saterday excepted). 

2. Every reaper is to have sufficient bread, cheese, and drinke, fitt for 
labouringe men, and at the end of the day to have apple pyes or such like 
repast. 

3. Every reaper is to be at Stockferry in the mominge by sunne risinge, 
ready to do their worke, and to retume to the saide ferry by sunnesett at 
eveninge. 

4. Yf the reapers come over Stockferry at the time lymited, and the farmer 
be not there ready to diswame them, it is instead of a daye's worke ; but if 
the farmer come to Stockferry, and diswame them before they come over, 
they ar to retume to their owne busines. 

5. Every tenant of a yarde land is to have from the lord, or his farmer, 
one loafe of good wheaten breade, wayinge two pounds and one ounce, and 
foure wholsome hernnges, the first Sonday in Lent, every yeare. 

6. The tenants of Hayton ar to have three hides and an halfe of brooke- 
land, in the Northwish, in Southeese, yearely to cutt & carry away the haye 
thereof at any time before Lammas." 

(The tenants of Heighton were allowed to compound for their " harvest 
worke dayes.") 



Note. — ^There appears to have been an ancient custom in Scotland very 
similar to the above, on lands called ' terre bondonmiy ' bondage lands,' or 
• bondagia regis' or * husband lands' — Houses in the hamlet of Traquair are 
stiU held on the tenure of finding certain * bondages,' — ^that of performing 
certain services of agricultural work. — New Stat, Ace, Peebleshire, parish of 
Traquair, — Lives of the Lindsays, Appendix, No. XI, p. 426. 



END or VOL. III. 



Aklxss and Tvckbk, Printen, 15, Frith Street, Soho. 



6^ 



^3 



248 IRON-WORKS OP SUSSEX. 

practised by the Romans, that in the 16th and following cen- 
turies the iron-masters, instead of digging for ore, resorted to 
the beds of scoriae for their principal supply of the metal.^ 

In the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford are several relics of 
the manufacture, discovered in Oxfordshire, and described as 
follows : — " Two pieces of slag, supposed to be from a Eoman 
smelting work, found, with pieces of Roman pottery and 
coins, at Dnmshill, near Woodeaton. The ore was probably 
brought from the top of Shotover Hill. Found Feb. 1841, 
and presented by Mr.Hussey, of Christ Church." On receiving 
this information from the Rev. Edward Turner, who had been 
struck with the analogy between this discovery and that which 
he had himself made at Maresfield, I had the honour of pre- 
senting to the Ashmolean Society some specimens of the 
cinders, pottery, and coins found in a like juxtaposition in 
Sussex, and these now occupy a corresponding place in the 
museum of that learned body. 

■ Vide Encyc. Britan. in voe. " Iron." 



MANORIAL CUSTOMS 

OF 

SOUTHESE-WITH-HEIGHTON, NEAR LEWES. 

BY ME. WILLIAM FIGG. 

(bead at the BRIOHTOK meeting, 6 DECEMBEB 1849.) 



'^ And as every of the lords at the begimiing were contented to grant divers parcels of 
their manors to sundry gentlemen and others, to hold of them, freely, by sundry kinds of 
suits and services, and payment of certain free rents yearly, so was their policy also to 
have others to travail and till the earth, and to use the trade of husbandry for the 
increase of com to serve their own necessity, and to be ministers also to the common- 
wealth ; and to these kind of people they granted their lands for term of life .and lives, 
reserving certain rents, suit of court, fines, heriots, and such other services as hereafter 
shall appear. And if the lord were inhabiting upon the manor, he also bound them to do 
custom works, which they call due days, as in time of tillage, hay-time, and harvest, 
according to the rate and quantity of their tenements and farms.'' — Survey of the Estates 
qf the Earldom of Devon^ 1548. See Nichols's Topographer and Geneahgiet f torn, i, p. 44. 



Among the matters of archaeological interest connected 
with Sussex, which have not yet found a place in the Society's 
Collections, are many feudal customs and services by which 
lands were formerly held under various Lords of Manors. 
During the lapse of years, many of these have either become 
obsolete, or have been compounded for by a money payment ; 
and the very fact of their having ever existed has, in many 
instances, been long forgotten. 

It is with a view of bringing this subject before the Society, 
and of inciting many members of more abihty, and with better 
opportunities of research, than myself, that I am induced to 
contribute the following specimens of the customs of Southese- 
with-Heighton, in order to open a fresh source of archaeolo- 
gical inquiry of considerable extent, which, although not of 
the first importance, may, if carefully pursued, bring to light 
much curious matter in illustration of the manners of our 
forefathers. 

III. 17 



244 IRON-WORKS OF 

Robert Hodson (Hodgson), of Franckfeld. 

[Poundsley fiiniace, in Fmnfidd.] 

Arthur Myddleton, of Betherfeld (Rotherfield), for furnaces 
called Huggens and Maynard's Gate. 

John Palor (?), of BetherfeldCy for Howbome forge. 

[Howbourne, in Buxted.] 

John Carpenter^ of Fraunte, called Bunklaw. 

William Belf of Warbleton, for a forge at Crowhurst. 

Thomas May, of WincheUey, for a " fornes" at Echingham. 

John Stace, of Aahurat. 

John Thorpe, of East Grenatede. 

John Duffold, of East Greneatede. 

Bobert Whitfylde, of Worth. 

George Bvlleyn, of Hartefeild (seal with his arms). 

[Probably of the Hever Castle fiimily, and consequently a relative of the Queen.] 

Nicholas Pope, of Buckstede, for a furnace at Hendall. 
Tliomas Colleyns, of Briffhtlinye, "Stockens (Socknersh) 
furnace." 

Alexander Fermer, of Botherfeld, a furnace called Hamsell. 

Nynion ChaUoner, of Cokefeld, 

George Maye, of Burwashe, a forge called Budgell. 

John Baker, of BattelL 

Thomas Hay e, of Hastings, Netherfelde fumes (in Battel). 

John Gardener, of Asheburnham. 

[He was of Kitchingham, in that parish.] 

Tliomas Ellis, of Biblesam (Bibleham, in Mayfield). 
Bobert Wodday, or Woody, of Frant, Benehall forge. 
Bartholomew Jeffray, of Boksell (Bexhill). 
Sir Thomas Gresham, Knt. (of Mayfield). 

In another paper of the same date (No. 56), there is a list 
of persons summoned to the council, and of furnaces ; and the 
following additional names are given : 

John Ashebornham, of Ashebomham, for a furnace called 
Pannynges, a furnace in Asheburnham, a forge at the same 
place, and a forge in Penhurst. 

[Pannynges is doubtless identical with Pannyngridge. Vol. 11^ p. 185.] 

Sir Alexander Culpeper, Knt., '' lyving at my lord Montagues 
house." 



THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX. 



245 



Michael Blackwelly a furnace at Northchapel. 
John Blackety a fomace at Hodley (West Hothly). 
Bohert Beynold, a forge at Brambletynne (Brambletye). 
Anthony Morley, a furnace called Horsted Keynes. 

[The site still belongs to his descendanti the Hon. Gen. Treror.] 

John FaukeneVy a forge in , and a forge in Marsfelde. 

John Frenchey a forge at Chiddinyly. 
Thomas StoUyany " a fumes called Waldernfixmese/' Priory 
fumes {Warhleton)y Brightling forge, and Warhleton forge. 

[He was of Warbleton.] 

John CoUynSy " a forge in Burwashcy called the Neither 
forge." ^ 

Simon Colmany " a fumes called Batteforde fumes." 

[Batsford, in Warbleton ?] 

Bichard Wickey " a fumes called Neither/eld fumes, and a 
forge in Mundfelde' (}ILo\xiA&.dd). 

Sir John Bakery Knt, a furnace and a forge in Withiham, 

These documents supply us with the following sites of iron- 
works, in addition to those comprised in my topographical 
summary in Vol. II ; namely, Etchingham, Bexhill, Uckfield, 
Hartfield, Mountfield, Brambletye, &c. 

They also fumish the following additional names of families 
who were either iron-masters or proprietors of iron-works. 



Abergavenny (] 


Lord). 


Eermor. 


Pelham. 


Bamngton. 




Eanner. 


Payne. 


Bullen. 




Gresham. 


Porter. 


Buckhnrst (Lord). 


Gage. 


Eaynolds. 


Bowyer. 




Gratwick. 


Eelfe. 


Blacket. 




Glide. 


Smyth. 


Challoner. 




Gardener. 


Stace. 


Carpenter. 




Hay. 


Surrey (Earl). 


Culpeper. 




Isted. 


Stollyon. 


Colman. 




Jefferay . 


Tyrwhitt. 


Dacre (Lord). 




Leche. 


Whitfeld. 


Derby (Earl). 




May. 


Wykes. 


Duffield. 




Montague (Lord). 


Walpole. 


Eversfield. 




Myddleton. 


Wybem. 


EUis. 




Mawge. 


Wodday. 


Einch. 




M^heU. 




Eaulkner. 




Northumberland (Earl). 





1 In my former paper on the Sussex Iron-works {Sussex Arch, CoU, Vol. II, p. 178), is 
given a representation of the curious cast-iron monument of Jhone Colins, in Burwash 
church. From this it would seem that the Collinses of that place carried on the trade for 
a long period. The Collinses of Brightling and Lamberhurst were probably descended 
from them. 



244 IRON-WORKS OF 

Robert Hodaon (Hodgson), of Franckfeld. 

[Poundsley fiiniace, in Fnmfield.] 

Arthur MyddletoUy of Betherfeld (Rotherfield), for furnaces 
called Huggens and Maynard's Gate. 

John Pcdor (?), of BetherfeldCy for Howbome forge. 

[Howboume, in Buxted.] 

John Carpenter^ of Fraunte, called Bunklaw. 

William Belf of Wardleton, for a forge at Crowliurst. 

Thomas May, of Winchelsey, for a " fumes" at Echingham. 

John Stace, of Aahurst, 

John Thorpe, of Hast Grenstede, 

John Buffold, of East Grenestede, 

Robert Whitfylde, of Worth, 

George Bulleyn, of Hartefeild (seal with his arms). 

[Probably of the Hever Castle fxEoSLj, and consequently a relative of the Queen.] 

Nicholas Pope, of Buckstede, for a furnace at Hendall. 
T/iomas Colleyns, of Brightlinge, "Stockens (Socknersh) 
furnace." 

Alexander Fermer, of Botherfeld, a furnace called Hamsell. 

Nynion ChaUoner, of Cokefeld. 

George Maye, of Burwashe, a forge called Budgell. 

John Baker, of BattelL 

Thomas Hay e, of Hastings, Netherfelde fumes (in Battel). 

John Gardener, of Asheburnham. 

[He was of Kitchingham, in that parish.] 

Tliomas Ellis, of Biblesam (Bibleham, in Mayfield). 
Robert Wodday, or Woody, of Frant. Benehall forge. 
Bartholomew Jeff ray, ofBoksell (Bexhill). 
Sir Thomas Gresham, Knt, (of Mayfield). 

In another paper of the same date (No. 56), there is a list 
of persons summoned to the council, and of furnaces ; and the 
following additional names are given : 

John Ashebomham, of Ashebomham, for a furnace called 
Pannynges, a furnace in Asheburnham, a forge at the same 
place, and a forge in Penhurst. 

[Pannynges is doubtless identical with Pannyngridge. Vol. II, p. 185.] 

Sir Alexander Oulpeper, Knt., " lyving at my lord Montagues 
house." 



THE COUNTY OF SUSSEX. 



245 



Michael Blachwelly a furnace at Northchapel. 
John Blacket, a fomace at Hodley (West Hothly). 
Bobert Beynoldy a forge at Bramhletynne (Brambletye). 
Anthony Morley, a furnace called Horsted Keynes. 

[The site still belongs to his descendant, the Hon. Gen. Trevor.] 

John Faukener, a forge in , and a forge in Marsfelde. 

John Frenchey a forge at Chiddinyly, 
Tliomas StoUyan, " a fumes called Fa/^i^rafumese/' Priory 
fumes {Wardleton), Brightling forge, and Warhleton forge. 

[He was of Warbleton.] 

John CoUynSy " a forge in BurwaahCy called the Neither 
forge." ^ 

Simon Colmany " a fumes called Batteforde fumes." 

[Batsford, in Warbleton ?] 

Bichard Wicke, " a fumes called Neither/eld fumes, and a 
forge in Mund/elde" (Mountfield). 

Sir John Baker, Knt, a furnace and a forge in Withiham, 

These documents supply us with the following sites of iron- 
works, in addition to those comprised in my topographical 
summary in Vol. II ; namely, Etchingham, BexhiU, Uckfield, 
Hartfield, Mountfield, Brambletye, &c. 

They also fumish the following additional names of families 
who were either iron-masters or proprietors of iron-works. 



Abergavenny (Lord). 


Eermor. 


Pelbam. 


Barrington. 


Eanner. 


Payne. 


BuUen. 


Gresbam. 


Porter. 


Buckhurst (Lord). 


Gage. 


Raynolds. 


Bowyer. 


Gratwick. 


Relfe. 


Blacket. 


GHde. 


Smytb. 


Challoner. 


Gardener. 


Stace. 


Carpenter. 


Hay. 


Surrey (Earl) 


Culpeper. 


Isted. 


StoUyon. 


Colman. 


Jefferay. 


Tyrwbitt. 


Dacre (Lord). 


Lecbe. 


Wbitfeld. 


Derby (Earl). 


May. 


Wykes. 


Duffield. 


Montague (Lord). 


Walpole. 


Eversfield. 


Myddleton. 


Wybem. 


ElHs. 


Mawge. 


Wodday. 


Eincb. 


M^beU. 




Eaulkner. 


Nortbumberland (Earl). 





^ In my former paper on the Sussex Iron-works {Stissex Arch. Coll, Vol. II, p. 178), is 
given a representation of the curious cast-iron monument of Jhone Colins, in Burwash 
church. From this it would seem that the Collinses of that place carried on the trade for 
a long period. The Collinses of Brightling and Lamberhurst were probably descended 
from them.